The Australian federal government has committed $566.1 million over ten years to “progressively map Australia’s potential for critical minerals, alternative energy, groundwater and other resources, providing scientific information to guide future investment.”
The move could subject every square centimetre of a 7,688,287 square kilometre continent to geological mapping in the hope of finding mineral deposits, despite a thousand mining companies (766 of which are large enough to be listed on the ASX) already in operation doing similar activities.
Yet it is a measure of the government’s “Future Made in Australia” strategy to deal with what the treasurer described as “fraught and fragile global conditions.”
The initiative will be part of the “Resourcing Australia’s Prosperity” program and will be run by Geoscience Australia.
It’s expected to take 35 years to “progressively map Australia’s highly prospective regions, critical minerals, groundwater and resources needed for the transition to net zero” through what Budget documents describe as “deep dives,” though they don’t explain exactly what that entails.
Linked to that is the expenditure of another $448.7 million over 11 years from 2023/24 (and an average of $43.2 million per year ongoing from 2034/35) to continue the ongoing partnership of nearly 50 years with the U.S. Geological Survey in the Landsat Next satellite project.
$33 Billion to Build Towards Net Zero
But those figures are dwarfed by the $33.4 billion which will be spent over the next 10 years on measures designed to stimulate domestic manufacturing and speed up the path to net zero, and which includes $13.7 billion in production tax credits for green hydrogen and processed critical minerals, as well as $19.7 billion over the period to meet the “renewable energy superpower” target.“The world is committed to net zero by 2050,” Treasurer Jim Chalmers said.
“This will demand the biggest transformation in the global economy since the Industrial Revolution. Australian energy can power it, Australian resources can build it, Australia’s regions can drive it, Australian researchers can shape it, and Australian workers can thrive in it,” he said.
Promising that the government would act with “rigour” and “discipline” in deciding which projects needed the investment of public money, he warned that, “If we hang back, the chance for a new generation of jobs and prosperity will pass us by and we’ll be poorer and more vulnerable as a consequence.”
Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor told ABC TV the Coalition backed the manufacturing and minerals processing sectors but it could not support “billions in handouts to billionaires” in the form of production tax credits.
The government’s package also includes $1 million for a pilot educational program “to strengthen the capabilities of Australia’s critical minerals sector to detect, prevent and mitigate foreign interference” in another sign that it takes seriously recent news of Chinese and Indian spy rings operating in the country.
