Overview

• The Albanese government has pledged $1.2 billion to establish a Critical Minerals Strategic Reserve, set to be operational by late 2026.
• The reserve will stockpile minerals such as lithium, rare earths, cobalt, nickel, and graphite to strengthen Australia's economic and strategic resilience.
• A taskforce will be created to design and implement the reserve, which aims to support domestic processing and supply chain diversification.
• Australia is leveraging its critical minerals to reduce dependency on China's dominant 80% supply control and 95% processing capacity.
• The initiative also seeks to boost regional economic development and secure bargaining power in global trade, particularly with allies like the U.S., Japan, and Germany.