Australia has lost the opportunity to secure national support for a regional NSW site with massive critical mineral potential, leaving the US to seize the day with a $566 million investment.
Shadow Minister for Resources Senator Susan McDonald and Shadow Assistant Minister for Resources and Federal Nationals Member for Parkes, Jamie Chaffey MP, said the Labor Government had been asleep at the wheel, forcing Australian miners to seek international investment.
Sunrise Energy Metals’ plans for the world’s first primary mine for scandium at Fifield near Dubbo is a vote of confidence on the importance of Australia’s critical minerals, but begs the question: Why hasn’t the Albanese Labor Government made similar investments in critical minerals, nor worked to reduce barriers to investment and production?
Mr Chaffey said the Labor Government should be ashamed of its failure to show confidence and leadership in Australia’s critical mineral future.
“The US has seen the opportunity to get in at the ground level on a supply of the very important critical mineral scandium and they have acted – unlike the Federal Labor Government,” Mr Chaffey said.
“This mine at Fifield, a small remote town in my electorate, has the potential to be the major sources of the supply of scandium in the West. Scandium is used for aerospace, defence, and clean energy applications.
“While this huge US investment will mean big things for the region in terms of jobs and the local economy, it is something that should have been supported by our own government.
“It is disappointing, to say the least, that the Commonwealth entity Export Finance Australia failed to see the advantages of supporting this development for Australia. Its very purpose is to ‘support Australian businesses to grow and succeed on the global stage’, and it has the funds to do so.
“Considering the tens of billions of dollars this Federal Labour Government is spending in their blind focus on renewables, you would think common sense would prevail and they would support an Australian company providing a rare commodity and providing significant employment and economic benefits for the region and the country. This should not have been dependent on foreign investment,” Mr Chaffey said.
Senator McDonald said this announcement confirms we have some of the best – albeit underdeveloped – reserves of critical minerals in the world.
“However, the fact that the US Government has had to invest almost half a billion USD to support this project reaching final investment decisions poses the question: how did Labor miss this one?
“So, I ask the Labor Government: what else have you missed? Are there projects stuck in the endless approvals blackhole that has become Australia’s mining sector under your watch?”
