Manison knocking down doors in Tokyo and Seoul to spruik Territory rare earths

One of the NT’s most senior politicians has travelled abroad to spruik our mineral assets. Read what the government hopes to achieve during the trade mission.

Deputy Chief Minister Nicole Manison has embarked on a two-nation north Asian trade mission to pitch the Territory’s rare earths, critical minerals and resource assets.

Ms Manison flew to Tokyo at the weekend for a four-day Japanese visit before heading to Seoul on Wednesday for a two-day visit to South Korea.

While in Japan she will attend an Anzac Day commemoration in Yokohama.

The tour comes just less than a fortnight after the NT government hosted the so-called Darwin Dialogue conference, which focused on the Territory’s rich critical minerals and rare earths assets.

And last week Ms Manison released the government’s mining taskforce report which recommended a change in the NT’s royalties system to increase mining activity in the NT.

It will also leverage the government’s August 2022 international engagement strategy which prioritises Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, the United States and Canada as key potential markets for NT resource assets.

Japan is the NT’s largest trading partner on the back of Inpex’s LNG plant. Picture: Glenn Campbell

Japan is already the Territory’s largest trading partner and Ms Manison said South Korea is an emerging partner already identified in the engagement strategy.

“We already have a strong relationship with Japan through Inpex gas but we also see great opportunities to build relations on the back of critical minerals, rare earths, hydrogen and other pathways we’re trying to develop,” she said.

“We’ve just had the Darwin Dialogue here and that was very well attended by representatives from Japan in particular because the appetite for critical minerals and its growth forecast there is huge.

“We’re very positive about the future of critical minerals investment on top of the mining development taskforce report I released last week which is trying to get mining moving at a faster pace.

“We’re going to be driven by demand because government and companies have set climate change targets and that will require critical minerals to reduce emissions.”

Rare earths from Arafura Resources’ Nolans Bore, 135km north of Alice Springs.

The Territory has 15 critical minerals required in the manufacture of emissions reduction technology and another 13 minerals which could potentially be declared critical. Ms Manison said the Territory is lobbying Canberra to have copper classified a critical mineral.

As well as an on-site visit to Inpex’s head office, Ms Manison will also meet with key stakeholders at Australian embassy-hosted events in Tokyo and Seoul.

In Tokyo, she will meet with representatives for the Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister; Japan Bank for International Co-operation; tourism industry representatives; and the Japan Energy and Minerals National Corporation.

In South Korea she will hold talks with officials from auto-manufacturer Hyundai, which last year signed an uptake agreement to buy rare earths from Territory prospect Arafura Resources.

“Now the world’s up-and-running again post Covid, there is a real need to start face-to-face engagement again and being there directly with our trading partners,” Ms Manison said.

“We want to make sure the NT is front-and-centre of minds and we will take time to do meetings and hold functions and tell the story of why the NT would be a great trading partner and a great place to trade and invest.

“I’ll be reiterating the Northern Territory government’s very strong support for our gas industry and energy security.”

Ms Manison will lay a wreath at the Hodogaya Commonwealth War Cemetery in Yokohama on Tuesday, where the bodies of more than 300 Australian servicemen from World War Two and the Korean War are buried.