Government invests in critical minerals research projects

The Greenbushes lithium mine in Western Australia is the world’s largest. Photo: Talison Lithium.

The Federal Government has announced it will invest $22 million in three research projects intended to grow Australia’s critical minerals industry.

Three projects from members of the Critical Minerals Research and Development Hub have been awarded funding, including the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), the CSIRO, and Geoscience Australia.

ANSTO has been awarded $13.9 million for a research project to accelerate the discovery, extraction and processing of rare earth elements from lower grade deposits.

CSIRO has been awarded $5.2 million to develop intellectual property to support downstream industries to produce high purity metals and materials, extending value chains for lithium, rare earths and supporting value adding to tungsten ores and refractory metals.

Geoscience Australia has been awarded $2.7 million for research into development opportunities of a domestic industry for critical minerals such as gallium, germanium and indium, which are often byproducts from processing primary commodities such as bauxite and zinc.

Critical minerals and rare-earth metals are commonly used in high-tech applications in quantum computing, batteries used for renewable energy technologies, precision medical equipment, and for advanced weapons’ seekers and guidance equipment.

Some of the more common critical minerals found in Australia include aluminium, copper, cobalt, lithium, indium, magnesium and manganese.

Critical minerals are also found in central Africa, China, Canada, Russia and Chile, and include dysprosium, fluorine, gallium, iridium, natural graphite, neodymium, nickel, platinum, praseodymium, terbium, silicon, cerium, arsenic, barite, beryllium, bismuth, caesium and silicon carbide.

Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Madeleine King said funding had been awarded to the research projects with a goal of supporting Australia’s Critical Minerals Strategy for Australia to be a global clean energy supplier.

“The path to net zero by 2050 runs through Australia’s resources sector,” she said.

“The new research will help Australia further develop critical minerals and rare earths processes and encourage downstream processing to produce components for clean technologies.”

The funding follows the October 2022 announcement of the establishment of the Critical Minerals Research and Development Hub.

In June 2023 the government released its Critical Minerals Strategy to review Australia’s critical minerals list which was designed to support the sector’s growth and ensure Australia gets a share of the global minerals supply chain.