Australia’s critical mineral resources
Australia has a high geological potential to contribute to the world’s supply of many critical minerals such as cobalt, lithium, magnesium, manganese, rare-earth elements, titanium, vanadium, and zirconium. When considering ore reserves of critical minerals in Australia, manganese ore was the most abundant. Manganese is one of the leading metals used in batteries and is an important steel alloying ingredient. The nation already has several operating mines of critical mineral commodities.Another crucial battery metal is lithium; the nation’s lithium production volume was forecast to continue growing. While Australia already produces around half of the world’s lithium, its potential to contribute to more of the world’s supply of critical minerals has intensified investment and development in this sector.