Critical minerals billionaire says taxpayer loans not enough
Billionaire Chris Ellison says governments must do more than offer debt finance to critical minerals projects, while pre-revenue explorers urged the Albanese government to avoid funnelling the $2 billion of new critical minerals funding to established miners who are already “printing money”.
The critical minerals facility managed by Export Finance Australia is expected to swell from $2 billion to $4 billion on the back of Wednesday’s pledge, which is designed to boost supply of minerals that are prone to oligopolistic supply chains in nations such as China.
Global Lithium managing director Ron Mitchell inspects diamond drill cores at the company’s Manna project in WA.
It is also expected to help bankroll Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s dream of leveraging the mining industry to create a battery manufacturing industry in Australia.
“We absolutely see a future in Australia for us making batteries,” Mr Albanese said on Wednesday.
China has this year restricted exports of minerals like gallium, graphite and germanium, continuing a trend of the Asian superpower using trade as a tool of geopolitical coercion as far back as 2010 when it limited rare earths exports to manufacturers in Japan and South Korea.
The Albanese government is understood to want the new money to flow to projects that can swiftly boost supply of minerals to defence allies including Japan, South Korea and the US, and that means billions of taxpayer dollars will probably flow to established miners.
About $1.25 billion of the original $2 billion critical minerals facility was loaned to profitable mineral sands exporter Iluka Resources to build Australia’s first rare earths refinery.
The $2 billion facility has also enabled pre-revenue graphite aspirants
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