Australia opens critical minerals reserve to allies amid China tensions

Australia is willing to sell shares in its new strategic reserve of critical minerals to allies including Britain, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, as Western governments scramble to end their reliance on China for rare earths and minor metals.

Critical minerals such as lithium are essential to technologies used in clean energy, semi-conductors and weapons among other sectors.

Beijing retaliated against U.S. controls on chip sales by placing export restrictions on its germanium and gallium.

Earlier this year, it responded to U.S. tariffs with new licence requirements for rare earths and related permanent magnets, crippling supply chains for U.S. and European carmakers for several months.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is returning from an official visit to the United Kingdom this week, where he met his UK and Canadian counterparts and discussed critical minerals, according to government statements.

The sources, who declined to be identified because the discussions were sensitive, said shares in Australia’s strategic reserve would be given in exchange for a cash investment and a guarantee on the amount they would take. The holder would be entitled to a percentage of critical metals in the reserve.

The sources said while discussions had taken place no details had been finalised. The strategy was floated to counterparts at a G7 technical meeting on critical raw materials in Chicago earlier in September, the sources said, adding that more advanced discussions took place with Britain and details are still being worked out.

“Securing our supply of critical minerals is vital for our industrial strategy…We are working closely with UK industry to publish a new Critical Minerals Strategy soon that will reinforce our supply chains for the long term,” a UK government spokesperson said, but declined to comment on the share offer.

In a July joint statement following a Australia-UK ministerial meeting, the two countries said Britain’s export credit agency UKEF had 5 billion pounds ($6.72 billion) available for projects in Australia and agreed Britain would be “consulted on the design and implementation of Australia’s Critical Minerals Strategic Reserve”.

Other allied nations that have shown interest include the United States and France, according to the sources. France is eager to send a delegation to Australia to discuss rare earth supplies, but those plans are on hold while a caretaker government is in place, a French government official said.

Australia is looking at ways to structure the financing to develop a critical minerals strategic reserve with funding of A$1.2 billion ($793 million) allocated from the federal budget. It is expected to be up and running by the second half of 2026, underscoring the country’s ambitions to become a key player in global mineral markets.

Britain is said to be keen on access as there is recognition that it does not hold the mineral reserves Australia does, but it is unclear how UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer could sell an oversees investment domestically, one of the sources said.

While Britain has reserves of metals such as tin, tungsten and lithium, it lacks other minor metals and rare earths critical for defence.

“Australia has everything that is in demand, almost the entire periodic table. And whether you’re looking at lithium, or cobalt or copper or vanadium, we have great resources,” Albanese told Australian broadcaster ABC on Sunday.

He said that Australia’s position building a reserve would give it a role in international markets that would “stop manipulation, particularly by state enterprises,” a veiled reference to China’s dominance in key mineral sectors.

China’s over-investment in supply of some metals such as nickel in Indonesia has sunk prices and toppled industries in jurisdictions from Australia to New Caledonia.

“What we’re talking about here is not giving anything to anyone, even our friends. What we are talking about is making sure that we maximise the return to Australia…but that we also make sure that we play a role in those international markets,” Albanese said.