News
New report highlights Australia's potential to help meet global demand for critical commodities
Published:27 June 2014
Cover of the Geoscience Australia
report Critical commodities for a
high-tech world: Australia's
potential to supply global demand.
Australia has the potential to play a major role in meeting global demand for commodities used in the production of high-tech devices such as smart phones and flat screen televisions, as well as renewable energy and low-emissions technologies like wind power and electric cars, according to a report released today by the Minister for Resources and Energy Gary Gray.
"This is the first report on Australia's mineral resources potential to supply critical commodities, and Australia could be a key player in providing a diversity of supply to the global market", said Minister Gray.
Of the 34 metal, non-metal and mineral commodities assessed in the report, five metals or groups of metals (chromium, cobalt, nickel, platinum-group elements and rare-earth elements) are listed as having high (category 1) potential to be found and produced in Australia, and are among those considered by the European Union, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States of America as highly critical to their economies.
Although less critical, copper and zirconium were also identified with category 1 resource potential. A further 15 commodities were assessed as having category 2 resource potential in Australia.
The report outlines the geology and potential for new deposits of critical commodities in Australia as well as identifying those critical elements with potential to be extracted as by-products in the mining of major commodities such as zinc, copper and aluminium. Essential geoscience information is provided in the report to encourage investment in Australia's exploration, mining and mineral processing industries.
Critical commodities for a high-tech world: Australia's potential to supply global demand, is now available for download from the Geoscience Australia website.
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