Australia has joined the United States, Japan and India in a new Quad Critical Minerals Initiative designed to strengthen diversified supply chains across mining, processing and recycling.
The initiative will seek to mobilise up to $20 billion in government and private sector support through new and existing efforts, with a focus on projects that can address critical minerals supply chain gaps.
A joint ministerial statement between the Quad partners said the countries intend to use “economic policy tools and coordinated investment” to accelerate the “development of diversified and fair” critical mineral markets.
The framework sets out three key areas of cooperation: investment and project development; regulatory alignment and the overall environment for critical minerals development; and recycling and recovery.
Under the investment and project development stream, Quad partners intend to identify projects with a “Quad nexus”, such as those located in Quad partner countries, operated by companies headquartered in Quad partner countries, or supplying Quad markets.
The framework also points to potential support through export credit agencies, development finance institutions, private capital mobilisation, guarantees, loans, equity participation, insurance, subsidies, and offtake or other commercial arrangements.
Resources and Northern Australia Minister Madeleine King said the Quad agreement formed part of a broader effort to build alternative supply chains for critical minerals and rare earths.
“That’s about working together better, more productively to make sure that we do create an alternative supply chain for critical minerals and rare earths that go into all the things we take for granted these days but are so vitally important,” King told Sky News.
King pointed to the Australian Government’s recent non-binding offtake commitment for Arafura Rare Earths through its Critical Minerals Strategic Reserve as an example of how international partnerships are starting to flow into project development.
“We’ve moved that to final investment decision,” King said.
“But that involved one of the members from the Quad, certainly the US investment bank is involved in that as well as from Korea and Canada, as well as Germany.
“So countries are working together to make sure that we are building our supply chains.”
The framework also includes cooperation on regulatory alignment, with Quad partners aiming to share good practices on permitting, licensing and regulatory processes, including measures to streamline permitting timelines where appropriate.
It also flags cooperation on geological mapping and resource assessment, as well as coordinated measures to address non-market policies and unfair trade practices.
Recycling and recovery will form another part of the initiative, with the partners looking to improve the recovery and use of critical minerals from e-waste and other scrap materials.
The statement said the Quad partners intend to promote innovation in critical minerals recovery and recycling, while exploring cooperation to streamline export and import procedures for relevant waste and scrap materials.
