Updates to Australia’s Critical Minerals List
Both lists contain minerals that are important for Australia’s modern technologies, economies and national security.
This includes:
- supporting our transition to net zero emissions
- advanced manufacturing,
- defence technologies and capabilities
- broader strategic applications.
Changes to the Critical Minerals List
The Critical Minerals List is made up of minerals:
- essential to modern technologies, economies or national security, specifically the priority technologies set out in the Critical Minerals Strategy
- for which Australia has geological potential for resources
- in demand from our strategic international partners
- that are vulnerable to supply chain disruption.
The updated list consists of 30 minerals or groups of minerals. It has expanded to include:
- fluorine
- molybdenum
- arsenic
- selenium
- tellurium.
We have also removed helium from the Critical Minerals List. This more closely aligns Australia’s list with those of our international strategic partners.
Strategic Materials List
Like the Critical Minerals List, the new Strategic Materials List contains minerals:
- that are important for the global transition to net zero and broader strategic applications, specifically the priority technologies set out in the Critical Minerals Strategy
- for which Australia has geological potential for resources
- in demand from our strategic international partners.
However, their supply chains are not currently vulnerable enough to meet the criteria for the Critical Minerals List.
The Strategic Materials List will let the government monitor the market developments for these minerals. It also signals the government’s support for their continued development.
The new Strategic Materials List consists of 6 minerals:
- copper
- nickel
- aluminium
- phosphorous
- tin
- zinc.
Why we made these changes
Updating the Critical Minerals List was a key element of Australia’s Critical Minerals Strategy, released in June 2023.
The Critical Minerals Office followed a clear process to make these updates. This included:
- performing detailed technical and market analysis, including using the latest data from Geoscience Australia
- consulting extensively with industry, peak bodies, state and territory governments and other key stakeholders
- public consultation on an issues paper.
The consultation page has a report explaining these changes and our process in more detail.