CCWA Warns On WA Critical Minerals Mining Rush

New sites for mining critical minerals crucial to the clean energy revolution will have to go somewhere, but they cannot go anywhere says the Conservation Council of Western Australia (CCWA).

Australia’s critical minerals list is based on global technology needs, including supporting the renewable energy revolution. Among the resource commodities considered to be critical minerals:

• Silicon: which is used in the manufacturing of cells for solar panels.
• Lithium: used in the production of EV and home battery storage.
• Rare-earth elements: a group of metals used in applications such as magnets for motors in electric vehicles.

On Wednesday, Western Australia’s McGowan Government announced an investment of $40 million to accelerate critical minerals discoveries in the state – the Sustainable Geoscience Investments package, which is included in the 2023-24 State Budget.

“The transition to clean energy represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for WA as economies around the world seek to secure their critical minerals supply chains,” said Premier Mark McGowan. “No other Australian State comes close to matching our commitment to minerals and energy exploration, and WA continues to lead the pack by some distance.”

Western Australia has and will continue to make out like a bandit from its various and vast resources. The state’s resources sector delivered a record $231 billion of sales in 2021-22.

“Accelerating exploration activity is crucial to our State’s future economic success, and I am confident this funding will help the industry unearth WA’s next big discovery,” stated Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Johnston.

CCWA: Learn From Past Mistakes

The Sustainable Geoscience Investments package includes an additional $16.1 million for the Exploration Incentive Scheme to increase greenfield exploration and create a new Geophysical Co-funding Program. The WA Government says the Geophysical Co-funding Program will support better decision-making around land use by excluding ground that shows little or no prospectivity.

The Conservation Council of WA has seized on this element in particular, urging the McGowan Government to ensure whether there’s potentially anything of value to rip out of the ground isn’t the only criteria in decision-making.

“GCP decision making tools should not only exclude sites that have little or no prospectivity, but also exclude sites that have significant conservation, biodiversity or cultural values”, said Joe Heffernan, CCWA Executive Director. “Protection of our natural landscapes and native species must take precedent over any new mining.”

While acknowledging the need to increase production of the raw materials to support renewables, Mr. Heffernan stated there were many examples across Western Australia where mining projects have left a lasting legacy of environmental damage.

WA is big. Not vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big. But big, and hopefully with enough space between particularly important bits to extract critical minerals needed without doing too much damage and creating a bunch of new problems in an attempt to address current challenges such as decarbonisation.

On a related note: do we (the world) actually have enough critical minerals for a solar and battery powered future? Discover the answer here (no spoilers, sorry).