Aluminium producers say government should expand definition of critical minerals
The federal government is being pushed to broaden support for Australia’s critical minerals industry to include commodities such as aluminium, nickel and copper.
The federal government should broaden support for Australia’s critical minerals industry to include commodities where the country’s mining industry has already had success, such as aluminium, nickel and copper, according to the Australian Aluminium Council (AAC).
The AAC filed its submission to the federal government’s Critical Minerals strategy on Thursday, arguing a focus on battery-making and other hi-tech commodities, such as lithium, cobalt and graphite, will limit Australia’s ability to contribute to global energy transition.
Currently, the federal government’s critical minerals list includes only eight commodities – lithium, rare earths, cobalt, graphite, manganese, silica, vanadium and bauxite – but only for its use in the production of high-purity alumina.
But the AAC submission says the narrow definition puts Australia out of step with its major trading partners, and could reduce support for the growth of commodities where Australia already has significant expertise and an established industry that could continue to grow.
Incoming Aluminium Council president Mike Ferraro said aluminium – and other commodities not currently included on the list such as copper – would be one of the most widely required elements in the global clean energy transition.
“To capitalise on the nation’s abundance of these commodities and to position Australia as a supplier of choice, they need to be recognised as critical minerals,” he said.
Bauxite and aluminium were recognised as critical minerals by Canada, the US and in Europe, Mr Ferraro said. Inclusion of major commodities, such as aluminium, copper, nickel and zinc could help miners seeking to develop new projects access support schemes, such as the $2bn Critical Minerals Facility administered by Export Finance Australia.
The Department of Industry’s critical minerals discussion paper – released in December – makes it clear the strategy will help guide decisions elsewhere by major industry support schemes, such as the $15bn National Reconstruction Fund and the $1.9bn Powering the Regions Fund.
Mr Ferraro said Australia’s aluminium sector was one of only a few of the country’s primary industries that captured the full value chain for a commodity at any scale. “Australia is one of the very few countries that has bauxite mining, alumina refining, aluminium smelting and aluminium extrusion industries, making aluminium one of the few commodities for which the entire value chain from mining to the manufacture of consumer products is represented locally,” he said.
In its submission to the critical minerals consultation, the AAC noted that the inclusion of aluminium as a critical mineral in the strategy of competitors and trading partners – such as the US – could help attract investment dollars that may otherwise go to Australian industry.
The submission notes the $390bn in energy and climate tax credits in the US Inflation Reduction Act contain more than $US35bn in support measures potentially available to the country’s aluminium industry because it was listed as a critical mineral.
“Australia is competing internationally to attract the necessary capital and investment to undertake the transition but also to attract the type of priority areas which are the focus of the government. The scale of the investment by the government at this stage does not match the scale of investment of Australia’s competitors,” the submission says.