Daniel Knox’s Post

Australia is well endowed with critical minerals essential for a low carbon economy. However, the PwC analysis shows that less than a fifth of the country’s current critical minerals projects are considered investable. There is an opportunity to generate $171bn in gross domestic product (GDP) and create almost 330,000 jobs by 2040, if we make critical choices to align our policy settings to market needs. Read Aussie Mine 2024: Critical alignment https://lnkd.in/gCynCtHs #pwcAU

Louise Woods, Nonkululeko Zondo and I contributed an article for Energy Intelligence considering lessons and opportunities for the UK's Critical Minerals Strategy after one year of the Inflation Reduction Act: Lessons ● Credit schemes work ● Long-term frameworks provide the stability required for critical raw materials projects ● Any UK framework must be more targeted than the IRA, to reflect the UK’s needs and target critical raw materials based on changes in demand after IRA Opportunities ● Capitalise on UK’s geological potential ● Rely on corporate/financial capabilities to coordinate engagement with international supply chains ● Focus on recycling https://lnkd.in/eEXfNwJc

The EU and Australia are partnering to advance the production and integration of sustainable minerals that are critical to the clean energy transition. The partnership aims to enable the EU to diversify its supplies of materials necessary for clean energy while also contributing to the development of Australia's domestic critical mineral sector. This effort presents potentially new opportunities for private markets participants focused on impact investing to identify companies involved in sustainable mining and processing that may benefit from this partnership. This partnership aims to: ▪ Jointly identify and develop mutual interest projects and benefits along the entire value chain of sustainable critical and strategic minerals of the EU and Australia. ▪ Enhance industrial and industrial integration of the EU and Australia in the strategic and sustainable value chain of critical minerals. ▪ Develop open, fair, and competitive markets for critical raw and processed minerals. ▪ Improve the integration of sustainable raw materials value chains, including networking, creation of new business models, facilitation of trade and investment linkages, ensuring sustainability, and facilitating well-functioning critical supply chains. ▪ Increase cooperation on research and innovation along the value chains of raw material, including minerals knowledge and the minimization of environmental and climate footprint. ▪ Coordinate on ESG standards and assessments, including alignment with international mineral pricing, strengthening supply chain transparency, promoting market recognition, improving policy alignment on worker conditions, and leveraging market opportunities for EU and Australian industry players with strong mining credentials. The partnership does not create legally binding rights under international or domestic law; the Memorandum only intends to ensure mutual protection of each other's interests on critical and strategic minerals. Within six months from the signing date of this Memorandum, both the EU and Australia envisage developing a roadmap that would include specific actions to start cooperation with each other. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/d-a7aS9k #esg #impactinvesting #cleanenergy #mining #privatecredit #privateequity

The ongoing financial support of key projects by Canadian Minerals and Mining is essential for the purposes of advancing the supply of critical minerals and metals. Canada and the World requires a sustainable and reliable source of essential minerals to support industrial, technological and transportation Sectors. The Canadian Mineral sector is a world leader and strategically positioned to supply the necessary resources. #criticalminerals #supplychain #investment #technology #processing Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration Inc. (SME) AME - Association for Mineral Exploration Mining Association of Canada BMAC - Battery Metals Association of Canada Critical Minerals Association (UK) Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) TMX Group Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) Invest in Canada | Investir au Canada Critical Minerals Forum Calgary MEGS BDC Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) https://lnkd.in/gi3XSFtK

Last week I was delighted to welcome an Australian delegation of 8 critical minerals project proponents in Paris on the French leg of their visit to the UK, France and Germany. Timing couldn’t have been better. Just a week before the visit, the #EU and Australia signed a Strategic Partnership on Sustainable Critical and Strategic Minerals. The partnership will: ⏫ diversify the EU's supply of critical raw materials ⏫ boost R&D and investment in Australia ⏫ Boost cooperation on #ESG criteria to reduce environmental impact of these value chains In France, our Australian critical minerals project proponents met with Joaquim Nunes de Almeida and Helena Maria Cavaco Viegas of the European Commission, Benjamin Gallezot of the French Interministerial Delegation for Strategic Minerals and Metal Supplies - DIAMMS - Délégation interministérielle aux approvisionnements en minerais et métaux stratégiques and Stéphane Bourg, Head of OFREMI - French Observatory of Mineral Resources for Industrial Sectors. The delegation also met with the Critical Metals Fund managed by InfraVia Capital Partners’ and the EBA Strategic Battery Materials Fund managed by Demeter. Thanks to everyone who met with our delegation and progressed meaningful collaboration between Europe and Australia as we build the secure, sustainable #CriticalMinerals supply chains that are crucial to our digital transformation and clean energy transition. Alpha HPA, Australian Strategic Materials (ASM), Cadoux Limited, Cobalt Blue Holdings, Jervois Global, Lincoln Minerals Ltd, Renascor Resources Limited, Widgie Nickel Limited are some of our Australian project proponents with expertise, strong ESG credentials and market readiness. Contact Carolyn Abela Rebiscoul, Austrade’s Investment Director in Paris for more information on critical minerals projects, investment opportunities and assistance to identify potential Australian suppliers and partners.

Today, we announced over $5.1 million in funding for 16 projects in the #CriticalMinerals sector. As part of our Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy, these projects will:    1️⃣ increase Canada’s supply of responsibly sourced critical minerals and  2️⃣ help develop domestic and global value chains for critical minerals.    The move toward clean energy and clean technology is increasing demand for critical minerals around the world, which is creating a generational opportunity for our businesses and workers.    Learn more about how this investment aims to capitalize on this demand: https://ow.ly/hHnp50TI6VO

VHM Limited welcomes the introduction of the Government’s Critical Minerals Production Tax Incentive which marks a significant step forward in Australia's efforts to bolster its sovereign capability in critical minerals processing. By complementing existing Government incentives such as grants, loans, and research and development support, this production tax credit encourages developers in the sector to capitalise on processing raw materials domestically, which will ultimately deliver a significant return on investment for Australians. The commitment released in the 2024/25 Federal Budget includes $7 billion over 10 years, for the 31 critical minerals on the Australian critical minerals list. Read more about support for developing Australia’s Critical Minerals industries here: https://lnkd.in/dRiSTB6h #AustralianCriticalMinerals #futuremadeinaustralia #Supplychainsecurity #sustainablesupplychains #AustralianTrade #AustralianInvestment #fiscalpolicy #Decarbonisingeconomies #Netzero #mineralprocessing #VHMGoschen

Euromines publishes its Manifesto for the European Commission 2024-2029: Raw Materials Mining in Europe: Responsible, Necessary and Ready to deliver. This manifesto sets out an actionable pathway to meet Europe’s huge and ever-growing raw materials needs. 👇 Find out more about Euromines Manifesto #EU #Europe #energytransition

With the current focus on energy transition, the role of critical minerals and Australia’s prosperity, this is a great piece of research and thought leadership.

Whether it be more goat track or global superhighway, the road to net zero certainly does run through the Australian resources industry (with acknowledgements to the Australian Prime Minister and Minister for Resources). But it does not do so exclusively. Applauding the success of standalone projects as they (slowly) reach FID is no longer enough. Systemic industry development is required. The genesis for the article below was twofold – first, a project for an inbound investor seeking investment in and offtake from Australian critical minerals projects, where the long list of potential projects quickly became very short; and second, a recent visit to Tokyo, Japan. Across several meetings with Japanese Executives responsible for the global allocation of capital to the resources industry, or seeking to procure critical minerals, the following themes emerged: 1. Australia’s attractiveness as an investment destination, a sentiment based on decades of investing here 2. The ever-increasing cost to operate in Australia, with queries about what is being done to address the cost base and productivity performance 3. The policy initiatives to add value, qualified by the following queries: How far down the value chain will Australia go? How will we compete with a dominant market participant? 4. That other jurisdictions are ‘in play’ given the geographic dispersion of critical minerals (relative to iron ore and coal for example). The Federal government has stated its desire to be a catalyst for new investment in critical minerals. Policy settings must be aligned to this goal and be bespoke to the various critical minerals markets to account for their respective states of evolution. In this regard, we must be clear on the objectives. For example: Are we seeking to subsidise the construction of mines and associated infrastructure or build markets for our minerals, or both? And are we prepared to distinguish what made Australia a bulk commodities powerhouse and act on those learnings to underpin the development of a critical minerals industry? The research summarised in the article supports the contention that investable critical minerals projects in Australia’s current pipeline – in short, those projects that are post resource definition and pre-FID – are lacking in number, in diversity (as measured by primary commodity) and scale. With this context in mind, the article suggests constructive ways to address these shortcomings, focused on: 1. Policy options to address price and volume risk that otherwise deters private capital (to catalyse funding in the short to medium term); and 2. The need for greater public private collaboration, notably to facilitate the development of project clusters (to address concerns about global competitiveness and underpin the long-term success of the sector). Link to article: https://bit.ly/3UOglu7