Australia’s Critical Minerals List

Date published:
20 June 2023

Australia’s Critical Minerals List includes minerals that are essential to our modern technologies, economies and national security, and whose supply chains are vulnerable to disruption.

The list is based on global technology needs, particularly for emissions reduction, advanced manufacturing and defence.

The Australian Government is establishing a process to update the list. This will help ensure it responds to global strategic, technological, economic and policy changes.

Table 1: Australia’s Critical Minerals List

Critical mineral

On US list[1]

On EU list[2]

On Japan list[3]

On India list[4]

Australian geological potential[5]

Australian economic demonstrated resources (2020)[6]

Australian production(2020)

Global production (2020)[7]

High purity alumina

Yes[8]

Yes[9]

No

No

Moderate

No data

No data

No data

Antimony

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Moderate

125.2 kt

3.9 kt

155 kt

Beryllium

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Moderate

No data

No data

240

Bismuth

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Moderate

No data

No data

17 kt

Chromium

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Moderate

0

0

40,000 kt

Cobalt

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

High

1,495 kt

5.6 kt

135 kt

Gallium

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

High

No data

No data

300 t

Germanium

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

High

No data

No data

130 t

Graphite

Yes

Yes

Yes[10]

Yes

Moderate

7,970 kt

0

1,100 kt

Hafnium

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

High

14.5 kt

No data

No data

Helium

No

No

No

No

Moderate

No data

4 hm³

140 hm³

Indium

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Moderate

No data

No data

900 t

Lithium

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

High

6,174 kt

40 kt

82 kt

Magnesium

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

High

Magnesite: 286,000 kt

Magnesite: 799 kt

Magnesite: 26,000 kt

Manganese

Yes

No

Yes

No

High

Manganese ore: 276,000 kt

Manganese ore: 4,800 kt

17,200 kt

Niobium

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

High

216 kt

No data

78 kt

Platinum-group elements

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Moderate

107 t

0.522 t

380 t

Rare-earth elements

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

High

4,200 kt

20 kt

240 kt

Rhenium

No

No

Yes

Yes

Moderate

No data

No data

53 t

Scandium

Yes

Yes

No

No

High

30.34 kt

No data

No data

Silicon

No

Yes[11]

Yes

Yes

High

No data

No data

8 kt

Tantalum

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

High

99.4 kt

0.1 kt

1.8 kt

Titanium

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

High

Ilmenite: 274,000 kt

Rutile: 35,300 kt

Ilmenite: 1,100 kt

Rutile: 200 kt

Ilmenite: 12,000 kt

Rutile: 1000 kt

Tungsten

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

High

577 kt

Less than 1 kt

84 kt

Vanadium

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

High

7,408 kt

0

86 kt

Zirconium

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

High

Zircon: 79,300 kt

Zircon: 400 kt

Zircon: 2,000 kt

  1. J Burton, U.S. Geological Survey Releases 2022 List of Critical Minerals, United States Geological Survey (USGS), U.S. Department of the Interior, Federal Government of the United States, 2022, accessed 3 March 2022
  2. Joint Research Centre, The Fourth List of Critical Raw Materials for the EU, European Commission, 2020, accessed 3 March 2022
  3. J Nakano, translation of a Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) publication as presented in The Geopolitics of Critical Minerals Supply Chains, Centre for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), 2021, p 22, accessed 3 March 2022
  4. V Gupta, T Biswas and K Ganesan, Critical Non-Fuel Mineral Resources for India’s Manufacturing Sector—A Vision for 2030, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) and Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, 2016, pp 73–74, accessed 3 March 2022. Minerals that are identified as of high economic importance, high supply risk or both for 2030 are highlighted here.
  5. Geoscience Australia, Australia’s Identified Mineral Resources 2021, Geoscience Australia, Australian Government, unpublished, accessed 3 March 2022
  6. Geoscience Australia, Australia’s Identified Mineral Resources 2021, [dataset], Geoscience Australia, Australian Government, accessed 3 March 2022
  7. Geoscience Australia, using estimated world production from USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2021, adjusted with reported Australian production in the dataset of Australia’s Identified Mineral Resources 2021, accessed 17 January 2022
  8. The United States identifies aluminium as a critical mineral.
  9. The European Union identifies bauxite (an ore of aluminium) as critical.
  10. Japan identifies carbon (which forms graphite) as a critical mineral.
  11. The European Union identifies silicon metal as a critical mineral.