Cosmos Magazine

Critical opportunity

They’re not called critical minerals for nothing. They’re irreplaceable. Without them, much of the technology our modern lives are built on can’t work. And their supply isn’t always guaranteed.

We need huge amounts of specialist minerals to electrify the world’s economies, build battery farms and assemble renewable energy turbines. Not to mention their demand in everyday and defence gadgets.

That’s why regional Australia is being scoured by foot and by satellite like never before. It’s already the world’s largest supplier of nickel, rutile, tantalum and zircon. It’s also in the top five for cobalt, lithium, copper, antimony, niobium and vanadium. But we need much, much more of these — and others.

Australia has the

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