Accelerating Innovation Through Collaboration: Sustainable Future For Australia's Resources Sector

Australia's minerals industry sits at the centre of several major global transitions. Across the sector, companies are decarbonising their operations while also supplying the critical minerals the world needs to power a shift to clean energy. Demand for energy transition minerals doubled between 2019 and 2024 and is projected to double again by 2030 . At the same time, new waves of digitisation and automation are reshaping how resources are discovered, mined and processed.

Each of these shifts is complex in its own right. Together, they represent one of the most significant periods of change the sector has ever faced, creating both extraordinary opportunities and formidable challenges. Meeting this moment calls for an accelerated approach to innovation driven by a willingness to collectively experiment, learn and adapt.

Innovation at pace isn't about rushing; instead, it's about harnessing collective expertise, articulating a shared purpose and building frameworks that let knowledge circulate, iterate and scale. Collaboration, both within and beyond organisational boundaries, is key to unlocking the potential of Australia's mineral resource sector.

At CSIRO, we see the power of collaboration every day. Some of our most exciting work happens at the intersections between disciplines. For instance, researchers in mineral resources are working closely with colleagues whose expertise is in the energy transition to explore pathways for decarbonising mineral processing and developing the technologies required for green steel production.

While mineral resources researchers focus on the process and material challenges, energy researchers bring deep expertise in electrification and the adoption of alternative reductants and fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia. They also have a long history of delivering carbon management technologies. Our teams are applying carbon capture technologies to blast furnace waste gases, addressing current emissions and trialling hydrogen plasma smelting for longer-term solutions. Together, we're designing integrated solutions that consider both the source of energy and how it's used – recognising that these transitions don't happen in isolation, but as part of an interconnected system.

Similarly, mineral resources researchers collaborate extensively with CSIRO's world-leading experts in artificial intelligence, machine learning and robotics. Their insights help us apply cutting-edge automation techniques in some of the most challenging environments imaginable. Mine sites are less controlled environments than warehouses or factories: they have more uncertainties and variability to manage. Adapting robotics and AI systems to such complex conditions demands deep technical collaboration and a willingness to test and refine. By bringing together expertise in AI, machine learning and robotics with an understanding of mining systems, we can translate advanced digital tools into real-world applications that improve safety, precision and efficiency on site.

This cycle of developing, deploying, learning and refining is at the heart of CSIRO's approach to innovation. Decades of experience show that the best outcomes occur when research and industry meet in the middle, co-creating solutions rather than working in isolation. A good example is our partnership with Northern Star Resources in gold exploration .

Together, we are deploying laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) technology in the field to analyse core samples, translating what has traditionally been done in the lab into near-real-time, on-site mineral mapping. That capability doesn't just speed up measurements, it also reduces costs, eliminates delays from sample transport or preparation, and supports more agile decision-making about where and how to sample.

Crucially, feedback from field deployments drives improvements in software, mineral libraries and data processing, so each project becomes the foundation for the next round of research. These kinds of partnerships help de-risk innovation – we learn together, iterate quickly and ensure solutions are viable in the field.

Another exciting area where collaboration is shaping Australia's future is in green metals. CSIRO is co-leading the $10 million Green Metals Innovation Network (GMIN) with the Heavy Industry Low-carbon Transition Cooperative Research Centre (HILT CRC). This four-year, government-supported initiative aims to accelerate the development of low-emission metal making in Australia.

Uniting research, government and industry in a true 'Team Australia' approach, GMIN is helping to address the technical and economic challenges of producing iron, steel, alumina and aluminium with a lower carbon footprint. By de-risking new technologies, promoting faster adoption of green processing and building the skilled, 'green-metal-ready' workforce our future industries will need, GMIN is laying the groundwork for a sustainable, competitive green metals sector and positioning Australia as a global leader in value-added, low-emission metals supply chains.

That workforce focus is critical to ensuring that Australia can seize the once-in-a-generation opportunity to build new onshore industries around our critical minerals and to develop responsible, reliable supply chains that meet the world's demand for sustainable materials. By doing so, we can position Australia as a trusted, high-value supplier in global markets – one that pairs environmental responsibility with economic strength.

The Australian Critical Minerals Research and Development (R&D) Hub (the Hub), established in 2022 and hosted by CSIRO, is another powerful example of collaboration. Funded by the Department of Industry, Science and Resources, the Hub brings together expertise from three of Australia's leading research agencies – ANSTO (Australia's Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation), Geoscience Australia , and CSIRO – to align and accelerate critical minerals research nationwide.

Working with industry, universities and the broader research community, the Hub helps scale up Australia's critical minerals potential by addressing key technical challenges and building strategic supply chain resilience, in line with Australia's Critical Minerals Strategy 2023–2030 . It also creates structured opportunities for collaboration – researchers sharing what's working, what's not and where the next challenge lies – helping us move more quickly from research to real-world impact. Researchers across all three agencies are collaborating to progress our high purity analysis capability, for example – key to benchmarking success of the new processing techniques and technologies being developed in the Hub projects.

Through initiatives such as GMIN, the Australian Critical Minerals R&D Hub and our extensive partnerships with industry, I'm proud to say that CSIRO and our collaborators are helping turn ambition into action – creating enduring prosperity for Australia's industries, communities and environment.