https://www.northernminer.com/
Rare earth and lithium producers are cautiously backing the Australian government’s proposed critical minerals strategic reserve, amid fresh details and ongoing concerns over its design. The federal Labor government, re-elected in May, first announced the A$1.2-billion (US$780-million) initiative in April during the closing days of its campaign.
The plan aims to establish a stockpile of critical minerals to bolster national and allied supply chains. Initially offered with limited detail and met with scepticism, the policy has started to take shape.
Australia’s only neodymium-praseodymium producer, Lynas Rare Earths (ASX: LYC), was among the first to raise concerns. Managing director Amanda Lacaze told The Australian Financial Review in April that the reserve could distort pricing and undercut domestic producers. Speaking last week at the a mining event in Perth, Resources Minister Madeleine King pushed back on that criticism.
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