Sydney mining summit: EU ambassador says bloc will invest heavily in Australian critical minerals

European Union ambassador to Australia Lawrence Meredith said in Sydney on October 27 that the EU expects a wave of investment into Australia's critical minerals sector as it pushes to diversify its supply chain away from China. He was speaking on the opening day of the International Mining and Resources Conference + Expo (IMARC) at ICC Sydney, Darling Harbour, a three-day gathering expected to draw more than 12,000 mining executives, investors, ministers and diplomats.

Free trade deal struck in March; 5.5% tariff could fall next year

Australia and the EU struck a free trade agreement in March after eight years of negotiations, removing tariffs on almost all goods and easing EU access to Australian critical minerals. Meredith said that once both parties sign and ratify the agreement, expected early next year, the 5.5% EU tariff on critical minerals will be removed, which he called a game changer. Talks are also very close on a memorandum of understanding with the European Investment Bank, which would act as the bloc's funding vehicle.

€10 billion for critical raw materials; Australia refreshes its strategy

EU policy proposals have laid out as much as €10 billion ($11.2 billion) for critical raw materials within the larger €409 billion competitiveness fund, as the EU debates its budget from 2028 to 2034. Australia said on Tuesday it would refresh its critical minerals strategy to place greater emphasis on refining and processing; the minerals the bloc is looking at first for Australia's strategic reserve are gallium, antimony and rare earths. On the opening day, New South Wales also released its Critical Minerals Skills Plan and launched the $28 million NextGenMIN Hub, a research collaboration between UNSW, governments and industry backed by BHP and Epiroc, focused on zero waste, zero emissions and zero human entry mining.