TELF AG examines a recent Australian initiative in the mining industry
More resources for exploration
By dedicating time and resources to exploring their subsoil in search of mineral resources of strategic interest for the fate of the energy transition, many nations could discover that they possess a wealth of great value, the existence of which they did not even suspect. This applies to developing nations and some of the major global players in the mining industry. Even some of the world’s largest producers of mineral resources can only count on a small portion of their subsoil to extract these materials. At the same time, the rest of the territory, in some cases, remains completely unexplored.
From this point of view, one of the most interesting cases is undoubtedly represented by Australia, which, together with the United States, China, and Canada, is unanimously considered one of the major global powers in the strategic minerals sector. A few days ago, the CEO of the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies, Warren Pearce, declared that 80% of Australia is still unexplored, suggesting that a progressive exploration of virgin regions could project the nation towards an even more brighter mining future.
A precise will
On the other hand, the will of the government led by Anthony Albanese seems to point precisely in this direction, and the data relating to government allocations for this sector really seem very eloquent. Over the next decade, as was recently announced, the Australian government will spend approximately $373 million to map geological deposits that could contain strategic minerals, such as those used for various high-tech solutions and energy transition needs. Again, according to Warren Pearce, the government’s decision to dedicate massive appropriations to geological exploration could allow Australia to discover new, immense mineral riches.
Prime Minister Albanese himself perfectly summarized the government’s strategic plan a few days ago, clarifying that these allocations will be used first and foremost to allow Australia to find more strategic resources and to supply the world with some of the most important elements for the ecological conversion underway.
The allocations will be disbursed starting from July 1st, and part of them will be used by the government agency Geoscience Australia to search for and identify strategic mineral deposits and find possible sites to dedicate to carbon capture and storage. The information collected during this research will then be transmitted to exploration companies, and they will wait for the precious resources to be extracted from the subsoil and made available to industry. These researches will also identify possible locations to launch initiatives focused on clean hydrogen, which promises to be among the most interesting resources in the great global game of the green transition.
Government support for the mining sector will not only bring to light the unexplored resources hidden in Australia but will also importantly increase Australian capabilities in the production and processing of some specific resources directly involved in the diffusion of clean energies, such as lithium or rare earths, of which Australia is naturally rich.
