Chalmers heads to meet with Trump administration on critical minerals

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Critical minerals required to manufacture batteries, military equipment and advanced semiconductors will be prioritised for a new national stockpile as Treasurer Jim Chalmers heads to the United States for meetings with some of the world’s most powerful economic policymakers.

The Albanese government will announce on Monday that antimony, gallium and rare earth elements will be the initial focus for the $1.2 billion critical minerals reserve it is developing to counter China’s dominance in this geo-strategically significant field.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Donald Trump signed an agreement to develop a secure supply chain for critical minerals and rare earths when they met at the White House in October.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers is travelling to Washington D.C. to discuss critical minerals with leading economic policymakers.

The government has said it subsequently received interest in similar deals from Europe, Japan, South Korea and Singapore.

Antimony, one of the government’s initial three priorities for the stockpile, is used to make household and commercial batteries, night-vision equipment and flame-retardant materials.

Gallium is a key ingredient for advanced semiconductors used in radar systems and telecommunications and rare earths are used to make the high-performance magnets essential for fighter jets and MRI machines.

Critical minerals will top the agenda when Chalmers travels to Washington D.C. this week for meetings of the G7 finance ministers. Representatives from India, Mexico and South Korea will also attend the talks.

Chalmers will meet with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, British Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama and Canadian Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne while in the US capital.

“Ensuring we have a reliable reserve of these critical resources will strengthen supply chains and help to stabilise critical minerals markets,” Chalmers said.

“The world needs critical minerals. Australia has plenty of them and our critical minerals reserve will help us weather global economic uncertainty and help to boost trade and investment.”

Resources Minister Madeleine King said critical minerals were essential to the nation’s economic and national security.

“The strategic reserve’s initial focus on antimony, gallium and rare earths will give added certainty to Australian projects, help attract further investment and help the sector deal with potential future market disruptions,” she said.

The government announced last April that it would create stockpiles of certain key critical minerals and that it would enter into offtake agreements to acquire agreed volumes of critical minerals from commercial projects.

China dominates the supply chain for critical minerals, refining between 47 and 87 per cent of copper, lithium, cobalt, graphite and rare earths, according to the International Energy Agency.

Australia’s ambassador to the United States Kevin Rudd has repeatedly said Australia can offer access to the entire “periodic table” through its abundant access to critical minerals.

In a trade war between the US and China, Beijing imposed strict export controls to the US last year on several rare earths vital for defence and high-tech manufacturing.

Under a truce struck in November, Trump agreed to halve tariffs on Chinese imports while Chinese President Xi Jinping implemented a one-year pause on Beijing’s export restrictions on rare earths.

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