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MELBOURNE, May 4 (Reuters) – Australia and Japan have beefed up their cooperation around critical minerals amid a state visit by Japan’s prime \u200cminister, with the countries providing A$1.67 billion ($1.20 billion) in support for \u200cthe sector and flagging more to come.<\/p>\n
Australia and Japan will focus on strategic projects to address \u200bthe most urgent supply chain vulnerabilities in mining, refining and manufacturing in the two countries, the Australian government said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Australia plans to provide up to A$1.3 billion, while the government of Japan has provided approximately A$370 million \u200cin investments and grants, and \u2060plans to provide further investments and grants as projects develop, the statement said.<\/p>\n
The projects build on the long-time backing by \u2060Sojitz and Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) for Australia’s Lynas Corp, the world’s largest producer of rare earths outside China.<\/p>\n
Projects that may be in line \u200bfor government \u200bfunding include:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Alcoa, with Sojitz and \u200bthe Japanese government, is working to \u200cdevelop gallium recovery at one of its operating alumina refineries in Western Australia, for use in semiconductors, LEDs, and solar cells.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Magnium Australia, in Western Australia, plans to produce high purity magnesium used in the automotive and aerospace sectors<\/p>\n
\u2022 Tivan’s Speewah Fluorite project in Western Australia is set to produce acid\u2011grade \u200cfluorite, a key raw material for hydrofluoric \u200bacid used in semiconductors, electric vehicles, and other \u200badvanced applications<\/p>\n
\u2022 The Copi Critical \u200bMinerals Project in New South Wales is a mineral sands \u200cproject looking to supply critical minerals \u200band rare earth \u200belements. The project is owned by RZ Resources, with participation from JX Advanced Metals and Marubeni.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Ardea Resources’ Kalgoorlie Nickel project, Goongarrie, is one \u200bof the largest nickel \u200ccobalt resources in Australia. It is being developed as a joint \u200bventure with Sumitomo Metal Mining and Mitsubishi.<\/p>\n
($1 = 1.3877 Australian dollars)<\/p>\n
(Reporting by \u200bMelanie Burton; Editing by Sonali Paul)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n