Ahead of the South Australian Government Budget release, the South Australia Chamber of Mines and Energy (SACOME) has called for the creation of a Critical Minerals Development Fund to accelerate projects and processing hubs.
The industry association also recommended the completion of the Critical Minerals to Metals Strategy and an initial $50 million investment in the proposed Critical Minerals Development Fund.
“Significant investment in the Critical Minerals to Metals Strategy and the Critical Minerals Development Fund will accelerate vital projects that fully leverage our critical minerals resources,” SACOME chief executive officer Rebecca Knol said.
“As global demand for critical minerals continues to rise, we call upon the South Australian Government to capitalise on our critical minerals resources and enact funding measures that will drive its growth and provide jurisdictional advantage to South Australia.”
Other Budget requests from SACOME include support for carbon abatement technologies such as carbon capture and storage techniques to offset emissions.
SACOME said Port Pirie, Whyalla and Roxby Downs have been identified as key locations that could benefit from processing hubs by the SA Government via the State Prosperity project, an initiative to unlock the full potential of renewable energy, critical minerals and green manufacturing.
“For over 130 years, our team at Port Pirie has processes and refined metals critical for the world,” Nyrstar Port Pirie general manager – operations Mark Eaton said.
“With critical minerals and metals more important than ever before, support for projects and sites that have the potential to extract more critical and strategic metals will be essential if South Australia is to play its part in supporting more diverse supply chains and sustaining industry.”
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