US defence chiefs have enlisted Australian help to secure the...

US defence chiefs have enlisted Australian help to secure the supply of critical minerals for batteries and weapons systems, to reduce China’s dominance of the sector.Australia is part of a Washington-led effort, which also includes Canada, to ensure materials critical for advanced manufacturing and the move away from fossil fuels are not controlled by Beijing.The Australian Financial Review has confirmed the Department of Defence is leading the effort from Canberra and it is being treated as a top-line national security issue."Senior national security officials have been looking at this issue very closely for quite some time,'' said a source.While primarily a resources issue, it has involved discussions at the highest levels of government, including the National Security Committee of Cabinet.The minerals, including rare earths, lithium, copper and cobalt, are a vital part of the defence supply chain and are used in everything from weapons guidance systems to improving the durability of electronics used in the field. They are also vital for wind turbines and electric vehicles.Half a tonne of rare earths Australia’s defence capability is affected through the staged purchase of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters from US, which have been reported to contain around half a tonne of rare earths.

China controls at least 80 per cent of the global trade in rare earths and has threatened to slash exports in retaliation for US President Donald Trump levying fresh tariffs against Beijing.Sources have confirmed a report by The Financial Times that the US State Department is working with Canada and Australia to better understand what critical minerals each country has and how these can be developed.The three countries have sought to bring together high-level government support for reducing the reliance on China for strategic materials.Australia’s response to the US call to arms has seen Austrade put together a prospectus of so-called "critical minerals" which could be developed with the help of capital from the US, Europe, Japan or South Korea.To speed these developments Austrade has led trade delegations to the US and north Asia and will take another group to Europe later this month

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