Nice post. All bodes well for an offtake with POSCO or the Australian government.
There is growing recognition that the G7 will benefit from expanding its membership with like-minded nations, with South Korea and Australia in particular being singled out for special treatment at this summit. Albo will be happy with that.
We are clearly invaluable and natural allies to the G7, and our inclusion is significant. It means they perceive that we possess global influence and perspectives that no one else has. There is not much else to say, as the opportunity to secure ties with resource-rich countries like Brazil and most African nations has long passed. China has that investment corridor and great political influence as a consequence.
The key outcome is that a “critical minerals production alliance” will be formed to stockpile and develop materials essential for defence systems and advanced technologies, with Canada, Australia, South Korea, India, dominating the supply chain. The mention of graphite was significant.
The stockpiling framework is yet to be fully worked out and was anticipated to be in place by the year-end. Therefore, we can only entertain what may happen regarding its size, etc. However, my initial guesswork is that 'alliance' implies that it would be sold through G7 nations, not necessarily their industries. The objective being sufficient for basic needs that counteract anti-dumping, exchange rate fluctuations and downturns in economies where markets can be manipulated by a State's vested interests. This is SYR's plight and no one wants another SYR and the like to occur, which is why I believe POSCO has all but abandoned its African hopefuls for now. Developing nations can't be trusted for stability of supply. They simply don't have a mature judiciary in place which is above politics that can be vetted to protect democracy, communities and human rights – China and its proxies make it so by engaging in the cycle of placing the foot on the pedal, removing it, and replacing it, and so on. Multinationals need certainty and SYR could easily fall back into a supply problem at any time of their choosing.
The validation for South Korea and Australia from the G7 means that everyone now needs to up their game if we are to address the global challenges facing Western trading countries. Our shared values, perspectives and contributions to offer in areas such as economic security, technological innovation, and sustainable development, including Australia’s vast resources in critical minerals, make us invaluable.
All IMO, DYOR, GLTA(patient)H
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