New mining boom soon

AUSTRALIA is on the cusp of a new billion-dollar mining boom through powering the world’s electric vehicles, which are projected to explode from 2 million to 50 million in about 10 years.

And in a bumper year – that stuffs company tax receipts into coffers ahead of a looming Federal election – projections today will reveal the country’s resource and energy exports are likely to hit a new record high of a quarter of a trillion dollars this financial year.

The Chief Economist’s Resources and Energy Quarterly Report released today shows coal values ramp up during 2018-19 but are then expected to slightly decline a year after.

It comes as a full throttle push will be made to capitalise on lithium deposits, mostly in Western Australia, in a bid to ensure Australian maintains its global resources reign.

Resources Minister Matt Canavan, who will release the report, said lithium had a special chapter in the publication, “reflecting its growing importance as an Australian mineral export”.

Australia has 17 per cent of the world’s lithium and is the world’s biggest exporter.

Australia lithium exports tripled to be worth $780 million in 2017. “The report says exports of spodumene ore, the precursor material for lithium, are expected to rise to around $1.1 billion by 2020,” Sen Canavan said.