Tue Apr 16

Critical minerals receive multi-million dollar support under Future Made in Australia policy

Written by Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

Two major critical minerals projects in Queensland and South Australia are to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in federal government loans as part of the Albanese government’s new Future Made in Australia policy.

New loans worth $400 million will go to the Australian company Alpha HPA ^[1] to deliver Australia’s first high-purity alumina processing facility in the Queensland port city of Gladstone.

The project is expected to create about 490 jobs during construction and more than 200 when it is completed.

The company will use Australian-owned intellectual property and technologies to produce high purity alumina, which is a critical mineral used in LED lighting, semiconductors, lithium-ion batteries and other high- tech applications.

The loans will be provided by Export Finance Australia through the government’s $4 billion Critical Minerals Facility and Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility.

The government is also lending $185 million to Renascor Resources ^[2] to fast track the first stage of its South Australian Siviour Graphite Project at Arno Bay on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsular.

An earlier loan for the project was approved in February 2022.

Stage One will deliver about 150 construction jobs and 125 ongoing jobs when the project is operational. Stage Two is expected to involve another 225 construction jobs and more than 120 jobs operational once operating in Bolivar near Port Adelaide.

Renascor Resources will deliver purified graphite for lithium-ion batteries needed for electric vehicles and renewable technologies.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the two projects would help bring “good and secure jobs in manufacturing, and clean, reliable energy”.

Resources Minister Madeleine King said Australia’s critical minerals and rare earths were “key to building renewable technologies such as solar panels, batteries and wind farms, as well as defence and medical technologies”.

Queensland Premier Steven Miles – who faces an election this year – said the announcement by the Prime Minister showed “the confidence government and industry have in the great state of Queensland”.

Critical minerals are defined as metallic or non-metallic elements found in the earth that are both crucial for modern technologies or national security and face the risk of supply chain disruption.

Australia has identified 26 such minerals, and in Feburay added nickel ^[4] to the list.

Albanese announced plans to introduce a Future Made in Australia Act ^[5] last week, saying he wanted to “bring together in a comprehensive and co-ordinated way a whole package of new and existing initiatives to boost investment, create jobs and seize the opportunities of a future made in Australia”.

On Monday the government announced a Medical Science Co-investment Plan ^[6] that identified priorities for government support including digital health, medical devices, innovative therapeutics and sustainability.