The federal government released Australia's Critical Minerals Strategy for 2019 last week.
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I suppose that when the layperson thinks of critical minerals they think of coal, iron ore, copper or some mineral that Australia produces in abundance.
But the term "critical minerals" has a very specific meaning to do with none of the minerals I've listed above.
According to Geosciences Australia, critical minerals are metals and non-metals that are considered vital for the economic well-being of the world's major and emerging economies, yet whose supply may be at risk due to geological scarcity, geopolitical issues, trade policy or other factors.
Among these important minerals are metals and semi-metals used in the manufacture of mobile phones, flat screen monitors, wind turbines, electric cars, solar panels, and many other high-tech applications that will be increasingly in demand in the 21st century.
The list of critical minerals in Australia include cobalt, helium ,lithium, tantalum, titanium and rare earth elements - and many of these elements are buried under the ground and rocks of North West Queensland.
Australia is ranked sixth in the world for rare earth elements but many deposits remain untapped.
Australia (and the North West Minerals Province) has high geological potential for cobalt, primarily produced as a by-product of copper ore.
Cobalt's unique combination of properties make it ideally suited to high temperature, high-wear applications including superalloys for jet engines; magnets; carbides; and diamond tools. Cobalt is also used in batteries, catalysts and pigments.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo currently produces 58.2% of the world's 110,000 tonne annual production. In 2017, Australia only produced 4971 tonnes, despite holding the world's second largest economic demonstrated resource of cobalt.
But investment is slow and with the right supporting framework, the government expects cobalt and other critical mineral markets could develop in response to increasing global demand - Derek Barry