Peddle in the metals

Tassie is in for a precious metal mining boom as global demand grows, writes Joe Hildebrand and Cameron Whiteley

TASMANIA’S diverse portfolio of mineral resources and the expected restart of several mines is expected to create hundreds of additional jobs throughout the sector.

The mining and mineral resources industry accounts for more than 60 per cent of total exports and supports an estimated 5000 jobs statewide.

And Tasmanian Minerals, Manufacturing and Energy Council chief executive Ray Mostogl said the anticipated resumption of mining operations at several sites could result in the workforce growing significantly.

The possible restart of operations at Queenstown’s Mt Lyell copper mine, the gold mine at Beaconsfield, the Avebury nickel mine on the West Coast and King Island’s tungsten mine have been flagged.

“A lot of people think mining has no future and it’s a dying industry, but that’s so far from the truth,’’ Mr Mostogl said. “The two things really driving that at the moment is the fact the world is accelerating efforts to move to renewable energy for zero and low emission products, and all of that requires mining.”

He said the state was rich in commodities that were crucial in that space, such as tin, lead and zinc.

“We’re not a Pilbara, we’re not a Queensland, but what we do have is generally high quality, high purity, and people pay a premium for that,” Mr Mostogl said.

“Tassie has actually got a diversified portfolio of different commodities and they peak at different times so you don’t generally get the downfall across the industry you would in another state when there is a downturn.”

He said it was determined Tasmania in 2019 had a total value of resources in the ground of $11bn.

He said there was also more exploration being done to uncover minerals and bigger resource bases than at any other time in the past decade.

Mr Mostogl said the high rates of pay were one of many factors to attract people to the industry.

From a national perspective, 40 per cent of Australia’s commodity exports are fossil fuels, including thermal coal, metallurgical coal, crude oil and LNG.

However, Australia’s top five export markets – China, Japan, South Korea, the US and the EU – have all set net zero targets, which are effectively reversing demand. As a result, demand for critical minerals used in products such as batteries and solar panels is projected to boom, with Australia poised to export up to $168bn worth by 2050.

This would make Australia the leading global supplier of clean commodities.

“Current climate targets of Australia’s key trading partners will wipe $128bn a year off Australia’s exports unless we invest in alternatives,” BZE head of policy and research Tom Quinn said.

“Over the next two decades Australia will lose a third of total commodity export revenue and the jobs that go with them, unless significant policy shifts are made to unlock investments in new export industries.”

In NSW, Sunrise Energy Metals is developing a nickel, cobalt and scandium mine, and mineral processing facility north of Condobolin. Once built, the Sunrise Project will become one of the world’s largest suppliers of nickel and cobalt sulfate, materials essential for the lithium ion batteries used in electric vehicles.

Over its three-year construction, its workforce is forecast to peak at 1700 fulltime equivalent jobs.

Mr Quinn said Australia possessed commercial quantities of 16 of the minerals used in solar panels and 10 of the elements required to build lithium-ion batteries.

“Global production of key minerals, such as graphite, lithium and cobalt, could increase by over 500 per cent by 2050, to meet the growing demand for clean energy technologies,” he said.

“Critical minerals present in NSW gives us a chance to move up the supply chain.”