- UK Minister MP travels to
Western Australia to sign joint UK-Australia pledge to secure
future supplies of critical minerals and inaugurate new
Consulate-General in Perth
- Indo-Pacific Minister to meet Resources Minister Madeleine
King in Perth on Tuesday (4 April) to sign letter of intent and
discuss how to secure supplies of minerals that will power a net
zero future
- Part of UK strategy to diversify global supply chains of
critical minerals, amidst growing geopolitical competition for
resources
The UK’s Indo-Pacific Minister, , begins a visit to
Western Australia today (2 April), focussed on working with
Australia to futureproof supplies of minerals that will be
central to delivering the world’s net zero pledges.
The Minister will meet Federal Government Minister for Resources,
Madeleine King, on Tuesday (4 April) to sign a joint pledge to
boost the global supply of critical minerals such as the lithium
used in electric vehicle batteries.
Minister for the Indo-Pacific said:
Critical minerals will be a driving force in the world’s journey
to net zero, and the UK and Australia are digging deep to
futureproof supplies of the materials that power our phones, our
cars, and uncountable other aspects of modern life.
Australia’s unmatched production capacity, combined with the UK’s
mineral trading and finance expertise, will boost global
supplies, help protect supply chains from future shocks, and
support thousands of skilled, high-paying jobs.
The International Energy Agency expects that as the need for
electronics and battery technology comes to permeate every aspect
of the modern economy, the global demand for critical minerals
will grow four-fold by 2040. Australia is the world’s top
producer of lithium, with the Greenbushes Mine, 210 kilometres
(131 miles) due south of Perth, producing 40% of Australia’s
lithium alone in 2021.
Meanwhile, the London Metals Exchange remains the world’s centre
of minerals trading and finance, and the UK is a leading expert
in processing as well as a top international deal-broker.
The two countries will also work together to promote the highest
environmental, social and governance standards in critical
minerals markets.
The Minister will visit Rio Tinto’s operations centre in Perth,
see the world’s largest bulk export port at Port Hedland, and
meet with the Chairman of Alkemy, Paul Atherly, whose firm will
supply lithium to a planned refining facility in Teesside, in the
North-East of England.
She will also officially inaugurate the new British Consulate
General in Perth, which, combined with Tuesday’s pledge,
underlines the UK’s commitment to build diplomatic and economic
ties across the whole continent of Australia.
Notes to editors
