WA spruiks critical minerals in ‘historic’ trade mission to Indonesia

afr.com:

West Australian Premier Roger Cook will fly to Indonesia with a delegation of mining executives and state ministers working to secure deals with the largest economy in South-East Asia to develop his state’s critical minerals industry.

Representatives from Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals and Gina Rinehart’s Roy Hill Holdings will join Mr Cook along with scores of other business leaders in the largest delegation the state has sent overseas.

West Australian Premier Roger Cook will travel to Indonesia this weekend. Trevor Collens

WA’s potential to export critical minerals to Indonesia, which is working to develop a battery industry, will be a central theme of the trade mission, with Mr Cook expected to meet with Indonesian business leaders on the sidelines of an ASEAN summit in Jakarta on Sunday.

“Indonesia has made no secret of its desire to become a global player in electric vehicle manufacturing – and the missing link is Western Australia,” Mr Cook told The Australian Financial Review.

“Perth is closer to Jakarta than to Canberra, that’s why we are doing everything we can to take advantage of the huge opportunities our relationship with Indonesia can deliver for the West Australian economy, which continues to power the national economy.”

Mr Cook described the delegation of around 130 people to Indonesia as historic and vowed to ensure WA did not miss the boat on what he believes is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to diversify the state’s economy.

Representatives from Chevron, BCI Minerals, Future Battery Industries and Global Lithium Resources Limited will accompany Mr Cook on the trip. The delegation will also include the WA ministers for energy, tourism and agriculture.

Other elements of the week-long trip will