China may be cut from critical minerals deals

Resources Minister Madeleine King says “like-minded” foreign investors will be welcome to invest in Australian critical minerals projects, as those developing the next generation of Australian mines warn against excluding China.

The Albanese government will soon release a critical minerals strategy to address national interest concerns over China’s dominance of supply chains for minerals like rare earths.

Critical minerals are essential for decarbonisation and defence applications and Ms King will tell an audience in Darwin today that the government’s strategy will push back against the “concentration” of critical minerals industries in China.

“Market concentration leads to fragility, volatility, and unreliability of key materials, like critical minerals and rare earths. This creates a strategic challenge for Australia, and for our allies,” Ms King will tell the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Darwin Dialogue.

“Like-minded partners can build new, diverse, resilient and sustainable supply chains as part of a global hedge against concentration.”

These comments build upon a discussion paper issued in November and during the first visit by a senior Chinese government official in six years, amid rising hopes for a thaw in Chinese trade bans that crippled $20 billion in exports.