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Australia’s double bonanza from rare earths
With its reserves, Australia stands to gain from growing global demand and its strategic heft amid efforts to break China’s grip on the minerals.
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Australia's reserves of rare earths and other critical metals have given it strategic heft as other countries look to alternatives to China.
PHOTO: AFP
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In the remote Australian town of Eneabba, about 280km north of Perth, is a massive pile of discarded “dirt” from a sand mine that could prove to be one of the country’s most valuable diplomatic assets.
The pile has been building since about 1993, when a worker at the local mining operation decided it would be worth keeping the by-products from the mineral sands that were being extracted. But it turns out that this collection of dark dirt is not only worth more than A$1 billion (S$860 million) for the mining firm, Iluka Resources, but could also be crucial to Australia’s strategic future.
