UK Eyes Australia for Strategic Critical Minerals Partnership under AUKUS Pact

UK Critical Minerals Strategy

“This new, focused Critical Minerals Strategy sets out Britain’s long-term ambition to secure critical minerals and leverage our competitive advantage in recycling and innovative midstream processing – the transformation of mined or recycled materials into refined or improved forms suitable for production,” the new Critical Minerals Strategy read, published on November 22.

The strategy, called Vision 2035, aims to ensure that no country supplies more than 60 percent of the UK’s supply of one crucial mineral.

It also aims for Britain to source 10 percent of its critical mineral needs from its own mines and 20 percent from recycling.

The strategy’s key policy objectives include optimizing domestic production and building resilient UK and global supply networks.

“Part of the strategy is also our (Department of Defense) procurement plan, which includes stockpiling critical minerals,” McDonald told Reuters.

The UK has set out in its new Critical Minerals Strategy that measures could include stockpiling, including through procurement mechanisms, to align with the MoD’s commitments to build resilience in critical mineral reserves for the UK’s defence.

Under Britain Defense Industrial Strategy 2025 sector plan, priority outcomes include, but are not limited to, making defense an engine for growth, supporting US businesses and developing a resilient UK industrial base.

This is also where the partnership with Australia under the AUKUS defense pact ties in.

Why Australia?

In addition to the AUKUS Defense Pact, Australia has become a key focus in bilateral partnerships between countries following the rare earths deal with the US.

The $8.5 billion deal, signed in mid-October, includes $1 billion in investment from both the US and Australia over the next six months for initial projects.

Among the projects with the aim of profiting of the recent Australia-US deal is the Yangibana rare earth project, owned by Wyloo Metals and Hastings Technology Metals Limited (ASX:HAS,OTC:HSRMF).

After the US, Australia also signed a treaty Joint Memorandum of Understanding on Critical Minerals with Canada in early November.

The new agreement builds on the Australia-US rare earths agreement between Australia’s Department of Industry, Science and Resources and Canada’s Department of Natural Resources.

It includes the establishment of a ministerial meeting for critical minerals, project financing, policy coordination and regulation, and information sharing.

In 2023, Australia also signed one declaration of intent with Britain to strengthen cooperation in crucial minerals.

“(The statement) strengthens Australia’s determination to develop our critical minerals sector into a global supplier of the resources needed for clean energy technology, such as batteries, electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines,” Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Madeleine King said.

“We will work closely with Britain to build resilient, sustainable and transparent supply chains for critical minerals, helping both Britain and Australia reduce emissions and achieve net-zero commitments.”

King also traveled to Britain the same year, calling it an “opportunity to outline” how Australia is working with industry and other countries to broaden global supply chains and boost investment in the mining and processing of key critical minerals.

Rare earths have been under heavy scrutiny in Australia in October following China’s expansion of control over rare earth exports, a sector crucial to the global technology and defense industries.

The Commerce Department’s Oct. 10 announcement adds five new elements — holmium, erbium, thulium, europium and ytterbium — along with key refining technologies to the export control list.

The new rules are global in scope: any foreign company that produces rare earth metals or magnets using equipment or technology of Chinese origin must now obtain an export license from Beijing.