Battery minerals boost from US move

Australia’s critical minerals will drive the United States’ electric vehicle battery program following a move granting the nation preferred status. The Minerals Council of Australia described the Inflation Reduction Act as a major step forward for the nation's manufacturing agenda, while helping underpin the demand for high quality Australian battery minerals. However chief executive officer Tania Constable said Australia must position itself as a competitive destination for capital in order to realise its full potential. The US move is good news for companies like Brisbane-headquartered Pure Battery Technologies, which has plans for a plant in Townsville as well as a $460 million pCAM refinery hub in Western Australia. “Any announcement which sees Australian companies, particularly those like us, who are Queensland developed and based, given preference for the sale of our products to countries like the US is only good news," PBT managing director and chief executive officer Bjorn Zikarsky said. "The flow-on effect of the preferred supplier status will be enormous for the economy and job creation. "It will be an excellent incentive for Australian companies like us to find ways to refine the materials here, on-shore.” Stephen Grocott - the chief executive of Queensland Pacific Metals, which is developing a battery chemicals plant in Townsville - told The Australian newspaper the US move was 'manna from heaven'. “It’s huge. What it does is bring the processing incentive back into Australia," he told The Australian. "US companies will want to invest. It’s great in that regard. It’s an immediate head start. Australia has extremely good processing capability, technology and qualified engineers and scientists. We are one of the global leaders but we tend to export the people and technology." Ms Constable said that under the Act, 40 per cent of the value of the critical minerals in a battery must be sourced from a country that had a free-trade agreement with the United States, increasing to 80 per cent by 2027."Driving investment in local processing and manufacturing will also ensure the demand for Australian mined minerals including lithium, cobalt, nickel and copper," she said."Importantly, it will also strengthen the case for investment capital into mining. Australian mining needs about $20 billion per year to sustain current production. "If we are going to increase the capacity of existing mines, or open new mines – including in the commodities needed for our global transition to net zero emissions – capital investment will need to be increased by an order of magnitude."The Bank of America estimates that US$150 billion per year will be needed in global mining to produce the minerals needed to achieve the global transition to net zero."

Battery minerals boost from US move

Industry Queensland

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