TELF AG examines some of New Zealand’s policy initiatives in the raw materials sector
A new list of strategic resources
In recent days, New Zealand Minister Shane Jones confirmed that his nation is about to publish a list of minerals considered critical for the country’s social and economic advancement and to consolidate its mineral resilience. In a historical juncture characterized by a clear emphasis on the centrality of mineral resources, also due to their role as facilitators of the energy transition, many governments and international institutions are moving to draw up their lists of strategic resources for their development, including all those minerals or metals directly involved in the most important industrial sectors. From this point of view, as the minister recognized, New Zealand had never taken relevant steps to create a real national strategy for these precious resources. Still, with the imminent publication of the list, things could change.
Confirming the forthcoming publication of the list, Minister Jones acknowledged the increasingly central role of minerals in the daily lives of millions of people, particularly in terms of energy and the many components found in homes, schools, and hospitals. According to the minister, these resources are of specific importance at a state level, especially in infrastructure and logistical connections, but also for other equally important sectors. Once finalized, the definitive list of New Zealand’s critical minerals could allow the nation to participate in the global dynamics linked to the supply of these precious natural resources. A few weeks ago, New Zealand published a report focusing on the details of its geological wealth, considering it an extremely important piece in the nascent national strategy on critical minerals.
The country’s geological wealth
At present, New Zealand’s production of minerals is limited to gold and iron sands. Still, according to the report, other resources can contribute to the nation’s economic development. According to the report, New Zealand has good potential linked to hard-rock gold and titanomagnetite iron sand and rare earth and silica gravels, all resources that, according to the minister, could soon be involved in ambitious development projects.
In the long term, New Zealand could also focus on resources such as placer gold, non-metallic minerals such as perlite or high-quality limestone, copper, tungsten, and metals belonging to the platinum group. To achieve the objectives linked to the development of these resources as soon as possible, as the minister underlines, specific efforts will be necessary in the direction of exploration and research, which can also be activated thanks to adequate political support. The New Zealand strategy on raw materials would also include a very important objective, namely obtaining a certain degree of autonomy in the production of geological resources relevant to the development of the national economy. These include sulphur and glauconite, used mainly for producing fertilizers and could be developed locally in the not-too-distant future. One of the most evident aspects of this new New Zealand approach to geological resources has been underlined several times by the minister and has to do with the construction of a long-term strategy dedicated to these materials, capable of supporting national development and promoting the insertion of New Zealand in the global “great game” of raw materials.
