The White House meeting between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and President Donald Trump represents a significant and historic moment for Australia’s resources sector.

The new agreed framework on investment in critical minerals and rare earths marks a turning point for Australian producers and processors. It will see the US and Australia investing $US3 billion in the critical minerals and rare earths sector, through financing, offtake agreements and equity stakes in key projects.

The partnership represents more than just a trade deal. It is also a strong signal that both Australia and our biggest ally are deeply serious about the need to diversify the production and supply of critical minerals and rare earths, for the good of both of our economies.

For the United States, the agreement follows the strategic multimillion-dollar investment into American rare earths company MP Materials. That deal includes a 10-year floor price, which has bolstered prices and provided a welcome boost to the sector.

For Australia, the agreement is an endorsement of our steady, patient and consistent work to support our critical minerals industry.

As minister for resources, I have been determined to build our critical minerals sector and to ensure Australia can add value by producing products that are essential for clean energy technology, mobile phones, medical devices and modern defence applications.

We hold some of the world’s richest deposits of critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, vanadium and significant deposits of rare earth elements. We want to grow our ability to process the ore into oxides and metals, which then flow through to permanent magnet supply chains and materials that are essential to everyday life.

Since coming to office, the Albanese government has provided over $28 billion in support to our critical minerals sector, which is the largest investment in the resources industry in this nation’s history.

All of this work began when we published a new national critical minerals strategy in mid-2023, which laid out our plan to create diverse, resilient and sustainable supply chains and to build sovereign capability in critical minerals processing.

We have increased the critical minerals loan facility – a government-backed debt and equity facility, to $5 billion and made other debt and equity support available. We have legislated a $17 billion critical minerals production tax incentive to drive onshore processing of the raw materials.

And we’re currently working on delivering our promised $1.2 billion critical minerals strategic reserve, which I anticipate will be up and running by late next year. This strategic reserve will ensure Australia can deal with future market disruption from a position of strength.

We are also working closely with our friends and allies, including Japan, Europe and the UK. We have a long history of working with America – both the Trump and Biden administrations – to develop alternative critical minerals supply chains. We have long known that Australia cannot diversify critical minerals supply chains alone and that we need our partners and allies to join with us.

The US-Australia deal also aligns with our wider strategic interests. The US is already one of our great trading and investment partners, as well as our key strategic ally through our ANZUS alliance, and now through AUKUS. Critical minerals and rare earth elements are essential for that strategic partnership.

For example, each F-35 fighter jet uses more than 400 kilograms of rare earth elements, from radar systems to stealth coatings. Each Virginia-class submarine requires around 4 tonnes of rare earth elements.

Critical minerals are essential for the future of net zero. Lithium, nickel, vanadium and cobalt go into battery storage technology, while rare earth magnets and silicon are essential for renewable energy generation, such as wind turbines and solar panels.

The road to net zero runs through Australia’s resources sector. Given our rich geological endowment, our world-leading minerals industry, and our high environmental and labour standards, Australia has a responsibility to lead on developing diversified global critical minerals supply chains that the world needs.

We welcome global competition. But the market for many of these crucial minerals is a long way from being open, fair and transparent. Open and diversified markets are good for producers, investors and customers.

While there is much to do, the deal signed in Washington this week is very good news for our economy, our sovereignty and our security.

Published in the Australian Financial Review, 22 October 2025.