The United Kingdom has signalled the possibility of a bilateral critical minerals deal with Australia as it seeks to enhance its critical minerals supply chain resilience.
The UK launched its critical minerals strategy last week, designed to ease its reliance on foreign suppliers by 2035. The strategy seeks to see the UK source 10 per cent of its domestic demand for critical minerals from domestic production and 20 per cent from recycling.
To diversify the country’s supply chain, the strategy will seek to ensure no more than 60 per cent of the UK’s supply of any one critical mineral comes from a single country by 2035.
Speaking to Reuters, UK Industry Minister Chris McDonald said the UK was open to bilateral agreements with countries like Australia.
He cited that collaboration was already taking place between the two countries through the AUKUS defence pact, in which critical minerals were “very much” part of the relationship.
“Part of the strategy is our [Ministry of Defence] procurement plan as well, which includes stockpiling of critical minerals,” McDonald said.
The UK critical minerals strategy has listed Australia as one of the UK’s “priority partners” for supply chain collaboration.
On a visit to the UK in September, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer for talks on defence and security cooperation, climate and energy transition, and trade and investment opportunities. Part of the talks included strengthening cooperation on critical minerals.
Australia signed the United States-Australia Framework agreement, a landmark critical minerals deal with the US in October, paving the way for a pipeline of collaborations, joint ventures and deals estimated to be worth around $12.3 billion.
The Federal Government has since said it is pursuing similar bilateral deals with other nations.
In 2023, Australia and the UK signed a Statement of Intent to strengthen cooperation on critical minerals.
At the time, Resources Minister Madeleine King said Australia would work closely with the UK “to build resilient, sustainable, and transparent supply chains for critical minerals, which help both the UK and Australia to lower emissions and achieve net zero commitments”.
“The UK has a long history of investment in Australia’s resource development, and I look forward to welcoming UK investment targeted at critical mineral projects at all levels in Australia,” King said.
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