The South Australian Government has declared that copper will join its list of critical minerals.
According to the SA Government, copper is a critical component for decarbonisation and will feature strongly in the state’s upcoming Critical Minerals Strategy.
“We’ve always known copper is critical to South Australia, but now we’re making it official by showcasing it as we develop our critical minerals strategy,” South Australian Minister for Energy and Mining Tom Koutsantonis said.
“I look forward to sharing our strategy more broadly once we’ve given industry stakeholders the opportunity to provide feedback.
“We will continue to advocate at a federal level for the inclusion of copper on the national critical minerals list.”
The European Union, Japan, India, China, Canada and the US have already added copper to their critical minerals list, reflecting the growing importance of the metal for new technologies.
The new addition to the list follows South Australia’s launch of its $2 million Copper Taskforce in June.
“The Taskforce will work alongside our state’s copper producers and explorers and develop a long-term strategy to grow the state’s position as a global copper heavyweight,” the South Australian Government said in a statement.
South Australia will continue to advocate for the inclusion of copper on the national critical minerals list.
Major miners Rio Tinto and BHP have this year upped their copper growth, with Rio purchasing PanAmerican Silver’s majority stake in Agua de la Falda S.A.
BHP partnered with JX Metals Corporation in July to decarbonise the copper supply chain.