Critical minerals and metals producer Nyrstar has submitted recommendations to the Australian Government’s Critical Minerals List, calling for zinc to be included.
Nyrstar’s call for zinc’s inclusion on the list is due to rising technology demand, its role in unlocking minerals, and supply chain concerns associated with increased zinc processing.
“Zinc is among the most used metal on earth playing an indispensable role in the development and manufacture of thousands of products important to Australia, our trading region, and our strategic partners. By including zinc on its Critical Minerals list Australia will join other nations including the US, Canada and South Korea and open up opportunities to strategically cooperate in addressing mutual supply chain risks,” Nyrstar Co-CEO Dale Webb said.
Webb stated that Australia’s Critical Minerals List must consider the global mineral market to provide economic security for the country and its foreign partners. He noted that Australia can improve its capacity to ensure a sustainable future by partnering with allies to analyse supply and demand dynamics.
“Australia has an opportunity to move beyond an extract and export approach to its resources, and its Critical Minerals List presents an opportunity to strategically identify opportunities where it can play a greater role in zinc and other metals processing. To do this will require an assessment of resources that moves beyond the quality and volume of Australia’s minerals and instead takes greater account of the entire value chain,” he said.
According to him, Australia should investigate a broader spectrum of critical minerals beyond batteries as the clean energy transition transforms the world’s minerals and metals to enable low-carbon energy solutions. He noted that this would benefit Australia’s Critical Minerals List by taking into account developing technologies and resources critical to modern industrialised economies.
“Some critical minerals are not found in great volumes in Australia, but we know that they can be unlocked through the processing of other metals the world needs. Germanium, gallium and indium are just examples of some of the critical minerals that can be produced through processing zinc. Australia’s Critical Minerals List should consider every opportunity that metals processing can provide in securing a new advantage for the nation and its international partners,” Webb added.
