Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King is firm European electric vehicle (EV) markets can rely on Australian critical minerals.
King told The Australian Financial Review (AFR) that she wants to see her European counterparts put their money where their mouth is and push for the continent’s electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers to source their critical minerals from Australia as opposed to ethically dubious sources.
“We’re a reliable supplier of commodities that are not subject to undue interference or restraint from anyone, but particularly the government,” she said.
“If the energy transformation is about saving the planet, of being cleaner and greener and sustainable and having high standards, there has to be recognition of those (higher) standards in Australia. Otherwise, what’s the point?” King said.
As recent nickel and lithium downturns have put pressure on Australia’s critical minerals industry, King said support needs to come from all angles.
Recently holding a roundtable with Western Australian Minister for Mines David Michael and WA nickel miners and producers, King discussed the challenges facing the industry.
Now King is calling for tax incentives and the removal of downstream barriers in order to shore up foreign interest in home-grown commodities, without which she foresees difficulty in presenting Australia as a competitive resource.
“We want to run more things like battery storage and less fossil fuels in the transport system, but equally there’s not a clear standard internationally or anywhere for provenance of materials that … can damage the environment,” she told the AFR.
“These things will be expensive because mining, production and refining ethically, responsibly and sustainably will cost more than if you do it in a way that damages the environment and doesn’t really care about carbon emissions associated with mining or refining.”
King said it remains to be seen whether producers will be willing to front higher costs for more ethical minerals, but that changes to existing financial infrastructures could have an impact in closing the gap on a green premium.
“That’s something that needs to be faced and talked about,” she said.
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