The PR Blog

Critical Minerals: The Deal That Could Turn Australia Into the World’s Quarry 

There’s a new chorus echoing through Canberra: “Critical minerals will secure our future.” With fanfare and funding, the Albanese government recently sealed a multi-billion-dollar deal with the United States to ramp up Australia’s role as a key supplier of rare earth minerals -  the elements that power electric vehicles, wind turbines, smartphones, and missiles.

On October 20, 2025, President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese shook hands at the White House, creating a glittering new partnership -  the U.S.–Australia Critical Minerals Framework.

It all sounds like the perfect marriage of mutual interest -  until you look beneath the polished policy language.

Touted as a game-changing alliance worth up to $8.5 billion, both governments will tip in $1 billion each over the next six months, unlocking billions more in private investment through the U.S. Export-Import Bank. Companies such as Lynas Rare Earths and Alcoa are already moving to expand operations across Western Australia and Queensland.

The stated goal? To reduce dependence on China, which currently controls up to 80% of global processing capacity. Note that key word: PROCESSING. 

The deeper reality? Australia is once again being cast in its old familiar role -  the supplier of raw materials for someone else’s prosperity.The processing bit is the honey pot - or is it? 

Because for all the fanfare, this deal comes with two very large buts.

 But #1 — Processing Rare Earths Is Toxic

Behind the banner of “clean energy” lies one of the dirtiest industries on the planet.

Even small concentrations of thorium -  common in these ores -  means tailings must be stored safely for centuries.

Assuming the procesing gets out of the ground, Australia now risks inheriting the Baotau legacy unless strict safeguards and waste recycling systems are enforced.

Can it be made cleaner?

Yes -  but only at a cost.
Modern plants (like Lynas’ Malaysian facility and its new Kalgoorlie refinery) use:

• closed-loop acid recycling systems,

• lined tailings ponds, and

• neutralisation and filtration units to contain radioactivity.

However, these measures make Western processing 3–5× more expensive than Chinese operations that simply dump waste. That’s why governments are co-funding: to make “clean supply” commercially viable. Elon Musk has personally taken issue with the terrible labour practices of the mining in the 3rd world and has gone out of his way to ensure that Tesla only buys these minerals from reputable 1st world mines, and so a MASSIVE amount of the lithium they receive actually comes from Australia, as well as other Rare Earths. But here is the irony:  while mining is ethically sourced from first-world operations like Australia's, the refining - the energy-intensive process converting raw spodumene (lithium ore) into battery-grade lithium hydroxide or carbonate - largely happens in China. This step is where the "massive amount" of Australian lithium is processed before reaching Tesla's battery suppliers. 

But #2 — Processing Rare Earths Is Energy Hungry

Refining rare earths doesn’t just burn chemicals -  it burns electricity.

A single refinery can draw 100 to 500 megawatts of continuous power -  the equivalent of a small city. The Australian grid, already under strain from the transition away from coal, could buckle under this new industrial demand.

Western Australia’s grid is more stable, but only because it still runs largely on gas and coal, meaning much of the so-called “green supply chain” will, in practice, be powered by fossil fuels.

Without major investment in firm generation and transmission, the grid will struggle to support this mining-led expansion.

The Astounding Costs

Financially, the deal could create thousands of jobs and pump billions into the Australian economy.
But the true costs -  environmental, energetic, and strategic -  are enormous.

• Energy: Refineries consume massive, round-the-clock power. Without dedicated generation, they’ll drain grids meant for homes and communities.

• Waste: Every tonne of refined material leaves behind hazardous by-products demanding generations of management.

• Money: Cleaner processing methods, waste control, and high labour costs mean Australian production will be several times dearer than China’s -  a gap taxpayers will likely fill through subsidies and defence contracts.

We may reduce dependence on Beijing, but we’ll deepen our dependence on debt, energy, and environmental compromise.

The Quarry Nation Question

There’s an old saying that Australia rides on the sheep’s back. These days, it seems we ride on a dump truck. 

The United States will get the finished products, the high-tech manufacturing, and the defence capabilities.
Australia will get the holes, the waste, and the power bills.

Unless Australia demands more than just “dig and deliver,” this shiny new partnership risks turning it into nothing more than the world’s quarry -  a nation exporting its future by the shipload.

The Final Word

The Critical Minerals Framework may well reshape the global supply chain and reinforce alliances. But beneath the press releases and political triumph lies a harder truth:  it is just a shiny promise that circles back to Australia digging holes while China keeps the processing crown.