Australia has a huge amount to gain from taking advantage of its natural abundance of critical minerals and positioning itself as a world leader in their production. But the federal government hasn’t yet landed on the right formula for providing support to ensure that as many of these projects get off the ground as possible.
Critical minerals, as defined by Geoscience Australia, are ‘metals and non-metals that are considered vital for the economic well-being of the world’s major and emerging economies, yet whose supply may be at risk due to geological scarcity, geopolitical issues, trade policy or other factors’.