Today
Iluka in talks for more taxpayer funding for rare earths refinery
Iluka Resources spells out strategic importance of its rare earths refinery with taxpayers again on the hook to support the critical minerals sector.
- Brad Thompson
- Opinion
- Opinion
Nickel miners exploit PM’s battery-making pipe dream
Instead of taxpayer bailouts, Australia would be better off letting workers from loss-making mines become home builders to help housing affordability.
- John Kehoe
Biden backs Australia’s push on clean nickel standards
The White House says more transparency is needed on nickel mining, so buyers know whether the mineral is clean or dirty amid a Chinese-driven supply glut.
- Matthew Cranston
This Month
Nickel tax breaks a coup for ‘the other minerals council’
The government’s consideration of tax credits for critical minerals producers is emblematic of a Perth lobby group’s rise from obscurity to influence.
- Peter Ker
Australia seeks clarity on when Chinese ties will bar miners from US cash
The Australian government has asked the US to tighten access to its critical minerals subsidies, including by expanding bans on Chinese political party members.
- Peter Ker
- Analysis
- BHP Group
Albanese heads west in the nick(el) of time
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is almost compelled by his own logic to write a big cheque for BHP’s nickel division.
- Peter Ker
Nickel miners thrown ‘sovereign’ lifeline
Fears of a collapse in the nation’s “sovereign capacity” prompted Resources Minister Madeleine King to include the battery metal on the government’s official “critical minerals list”.
- Jacob Greber, Peter Ker and Brad Thompson
- Opinion
- Energy
Critical minerals still subject to old rules of boom and bust
‘Future-facing’ battery metals are not immune to the ups and downs of supply and demand, and renewable energy will rely on gas to help in the energy transition.
- Jennifer Hewett
Prices have slumped, but there’s no transition without these miners
Miners are pinning their future on metals needed for decarbonisation and many are snapping up assets around Australia.
- Peter Ker
WA pushes on with Indonesia minerals partnership amid nickel job cuts
The West Australian government supports Indonesia’s ambition to become a global power in electric vehicle battery production, frustrating local miners,
- Tom Rabe and Brad Thompson
- Exclusive
- Madeleine King
‘Is anyone going to pay’ for a green premium?
Resources Minister Madeleine King says she is determined to push Europeans to value “green premium” Australian critical minerals above cheaper rivals.
- Jacob Greber
Forrests forced to prop up struggling nickel business as prices slide
The billionaire family have tipped another $31 million into Mincor Resources, which was acquired off the ASX for more than $700 million last year.
- Peter Ker and Brad Thompson
Lynas linked to rare earths mega-merger as price falls bite
Weakness in the sector, and new Chinese trade restrictions, have bolstered the case for a merger between local miner Lynas and New York-listed MP Materials.
- Updated
- Brad Thompson and Andrew Tillett
Wild swings ahead for lithium as producers ‘play chicken’
A sharp correction in the battery metal price has triggered more cut backs in output and analysts say investors should brace for even more volatility.
- Joshua Peach
January
- Opinion
- Nickel
Nickel miners face a four-year winter
A leading nickel forecaster believes it could be 2028 before nickel markets return to balance, and it’s wrong to suggest all Indonesian nickel is “dirty”.
- Peter Ker
- Analysis
- Analysis
Greenbushes cuts a reminder that lithium is not iron ore
When the lowest-cost producer starts cutting profitable volumes, you know the Australian mining industry has changed.
- Peter Ker
Australia’s best lithium mine to taper production in boost for rivals
IGO Limited confirmed production at Greenbushes was likely to be “marginally reduced” because the mine’s owners had ordered less volume than expected.
- Peter Ker
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Why this battery minerals bust won’t be the last
The promise of a critical minerals boom that could run for decades has obscured the fact that sectors such as lithium can’t escape mining’s traditional boom-and-bust cycles.
- James Thomson
Prices for Australian lithium have further to fall
The commodity price forecaster that spooked the big four banks out of a landmark lithium loan says Chinese miners will flourish and drive down lithium prices.
- Peter Ker
- Updated
- Lithium
Crisis talks as critical minerals bust deepens
Miners will push Resources Minister Madeleine King to drive reform of the way critical minerals are priced at crisis talks this week after lenders withdrew a key loan.
- Updated
- Peter Ker and Brad Thompson
