The Australian Government is committing $22 million to three research projects to boost the Australian critical minerals industry and help supply materials crucial to emissions reduction.
Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Madeleine King said the funding was awarded to research projects to the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), CSIRO, and Geoscience Australia, members of the Critical Minerals Research and Development Hub.
“These new research projects will support Australia’s Critical Minerals Strategy and our ambition for Australia to be a global clean energy supplier,” Minister King stated.
“The path to net zero by 2050 runs through Australia’s resources sector. The new research will help Australia further develop critical minerals and rare earths processes and encourage downstream processing to produce components for clean technologies.”
$13.9 million has been awarded to ANSTO’s research project to expedite the discovery, extraction, and processing of rare earth elements from lower-grade deposits.
CSIRO has been awarded $5.2 million to develop intellectual property and know-how for high-purity metals and materials, extending value chains for lithium, rare earths, tungsten ores, and refractory metals.
Meanwhile, Geoscience Australia has been awarded $2.7 million to research domestic industry development opportunities for critical minerals like gallium, germanium, and indium, often by-products from processing primary commodities like bauxite and zinc.
Critical minerals and rare earths are essential in clean energy technologies like storage batteries, electric vehicles, solar panels, wind turbines, defence, and medical technologies.
The Critical Minerals Research and Development Hub was introduced in the October 2022 Budget to unlock Australia’s potential in critical minerals.
