The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) has welcomed the impending release of the Australian Government's updated Critical Minerals Strategy and expressed support for an Opposition proposal to expand the list to include aluminium, alumina, bauxite, nickel, copper, zinc, potash and phosphate.
QRC Chief Executive Ian Macfarlane said rapidly intensifying global attention on critical minerals sources and supply chains means Australia and Queensland must act quickly to make the most of the investment and jobs opportunities that will come with the explosion in demand.
"Critical minerals is the buzz term around the world at the moment, and for good reason because they are essential to the development of modern, low-emissions economies," Mr Macfarlane said.
"Although there's not one globally agreed list of critical minerals, the Australian and Queensland Governments have been working over several years to create a priority list of minerals for exploration and investment.
"Australia has opportunities to mine, process, use and export the critical minerals that will support decarbonisation, create expanded manufacturing capacity and support industries such as defence, aviation and medicine.
"The Australian Government is preparing to release an updated Critical Minerals Strategy to consolidate previous versions of the strategy and build upon almost $50 million in grant announcements made by Resources Minister Madeleine King under the Critical Minerals Development Program," he said.
"The QRC welcomes the Government's attention on an updated strategy and supports the proposal from Shadow Resources Minister Senator Susan McDonald to expand Australia's critical minerals list to include aluminium, alumina, bauxite, nickel, copper, zinc, potash and phosphate.
"There is strong global competition for investment in critical minerals projects and processing capacity and Australia will see the best results and create the most jobs when there is bipartisan support at a federal level and when the Australian and Queensland Governments work together on an aligned strategy.
"Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the QRC joined an Australian Government critical minerals delegation to the United States because we recognised how crucial these minerals were to Australia's and the world's transition to net zero.
"We urge the Australian and Queensland Governments to continue this momentum."
