The Australian Government has announced a significant investment of AUS$40million, or US$25million, in grants across 8 projects to strengthen international partnerships in its domestic critical minerals sector.
The critical minerals impacted include: vanadium, graphite, fluorite, rare earths, cobalt, and nickel.
This strategic move aims to bolster Australia’s position in the global critical minerals supply chain and foster collaboration with key international partners.
The projects include:
- $3.8 million for the Vecco Group Ltd to support the development of a vanadium flow battery manufacturing supply chain in Queensland. This includes a feasibility study for the Julia Creek Vanadium Mine, commissioning and operation of a high-purity vanadium pilot plant, and design of an electrolyte manufacturing plant in Townsville
- $3 million for Graphinex Ltd to support a proposed graphite refinery (Battery Anode Hub) in Townsville linked to its Esmeralda deposit
- $7.39 million for Tivan Ltd for feasibility studies in Perth into its Speewah Fluorite project located in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia
- $5 million for Australian Rare Earths Ltd to support a demonstration plant for extraction of ionic clay hosted rare earth elements at its Koppamurra Project at Naracoorte in South Australia’s Limestone Coast region
- $2.7 million for Critical Minerals Group to support a vanadium electrolyte production chain for battery-grade materials in northern Queensland including Townsville and Mount Isa
- $5 million for Renascor Resources Ltd to support the construction and operation of a purified spherical graphite pilot processing plant in Wingfield South Australia
- $8 million for Queensland Pacific Metals Ltd to produce nickel and cobalt in Albion Queensland for use at the Townsville Energy Chemicals Hub (TECH) project near Townsville
- $5.1 million for the Australian Strategic Materials Ltd to support the development of a rare earth and critical minerals mine and processing plant in Dubbo in central west New South Wales
The investment comes as Australia’s critical mineral export revenue is expected to beat coal revenue by 2028, with a steady increase in demand for copper, nickel, lithium and other critical minerals.
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