The Global Resources Strategy announced by the Coalition Government today will support the Australian minerals industry as a reliable exporter to existing and emerging markets and a major contributor of critical minerals required for global transition to clean energy technologies.

Global supply chains are increasingly being disrupted by geopolitical shifts, decreasing supply chain security and rapidly increasing competition for manufacturing market share.

Australian mining companies already have a diverse supply of exports and have always actively looked for new markets for major commodities – such as iron ore, coal, and bauxite as well the minerals and metals vital for new technologies. This strategy will further assist this important ongoing task.

As the International Energy Agency noted yesterday, Australia is in an ideal position to respond to these disruptions as a reliable, safe, secure and viable provider of resources to the changing world.

Australian mining is a world leader on safety, environmental management, human rights, community partnerships, Indigenous economic development and tax transparency.

Facilitating trade and investment includes delivering awareness of Australian mining’s world-leading ESG credentials – such as the industry’s recent adoption of the Towards Sustainable Mining system for site-level reporting – and driving deals between Australian miners and potential industrial customers in a greater range of markets.

In a scenario that meets the Paris Agreement goals, clean energy technologies’ share of total demand rises significantly over the next two decades to over 40 per cent for copper and rare earth elements, 60-70 per cent for nickel and cobalt, and almost 90 per cent for lithium.

Australia is a major producer of many critical minerals such as lithium and zirconium concentrate and large producer of rare earth elements and is well placed to support global clean energy transitions as a reliable and responsible supplier of many minerals that are vital to clean energy technologies.

This is good news for regional Australia, with communities set to benefit from the jobs created to support the supply of these critical minerals to expanding export markets.

ends