The introduction of new trade measures by the US and China presents a clear opportunity for Australia to step up as a key supplier of critical heavy rare earths, according to Victory Metals chief executive officer Brendan Clark.
From November 1, the US will impose a 100 per cent tariff on Chinese imports, and a month later on December 1, China will restrict exports of key heavy rare earths if they’re tied to military use.
Clark said this highlights the opportunity Australia has to provide the west with the materials critical to global technology and defence supply chains.
“Australia has some of the most promising heavy rare earth projects in the world ,” Clark said.“We host significant ratios of these critical strategic defence metals that can help break China’s dominance on this sector.”
Clark pointed to Victory’s North Stanmore project in Western Australia, which recently reported the highest dysprosium grades at scale for any clay-hosted deposit in the country. With naturally occurring clay deposits, Clark said Australia has a potential speed and cost advantage over traditional hard-rock projects.
Under China’s new controls, materials including dysprosium, terbium, and samarium, as well as related alloys and oxides, will require export licences, with restrictions on any end-use linked to military applications.
Clark said the global response is already underway.
“The West … [is] seeking to diversify sourcing and processing capacity for the rare earth elements they need for applications such as semiconductors, electric vehicles, magnets, and advanced defence systems,” he said.
“With Europe, the United States and Japan all looking for sustainable long-term partnerships, this is a golden opportunity for Australia.”
HREs remain in high global demand for various applications, from defence manufacturing, energy storage, wind turbines and advanced aerospace, to electric vehicles, and next generation computing.
“Australia can be the global leader in the supply of these irreplaceable heavy rare earths … we can position Australia as a safe, secure, sustainable and reliable supply partner and pave the way to not only supply the materials the world is demanding but also create a multi-billion-dollar industry for Australia,” Clark said.
