❓ Dr. Honey raises concerns about the lithium industry downturn and its impact on Ravensthorpe. The Minister acknowledges the challenges and outlines government support measures, emphasizing the long-term prospects of the critical minerals sector.
AnsweredQoN 599Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
LITHIUM INDUSTRY
599. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Minister for Mines and Petroleum:
I also join in welcoming the member
for Rockingham and especially baby Bowie to the chamber. It is a wonderful step forward for this place. My question is to the
Minister for Mines and Petroleum. I refer to the recent announcement by Arcadium Lithium that it will be placing Mt
Cattlin mine into care and maintenance. This will have a devastating impact on the community of Ravensthorpe, especially after the shutdown of the
First Quantum Minerals Ravensthorpe nickel mine in April. On 6 August, Mr Tony
Ottaviano from Liontown Resources called for royalty relief for struggling
lithium miners. What measures is the minister taking to ensure that our lithium
miners can survive this current downturn in prices?
599. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Minister for Mines and Petroleum:
I also join in welcoming the member
for Rockingham and especially baby Bowie to the chamber. It is a wonderful step forward for this place. My question is to the
Minister for Mines and Petroleum. I refer to the recent announcement by Arcadium Lithium that it will be placing Mt
Cattlin mine into care and maintenance. This will have a devastating impact on the community of Ravensthorpe, especially after the shutdown of the
First Quantum Minerals Ravensthorpe nickel mine in April. On 6 August, Mr Tony
Ottaviano from Liontown Resources called for royalty relief for struggling
lithium miners. What measures is the minister taking to ensure that our lithium
miners can survive this current downturn in prices?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question.
I also welcome Bowie to the chamber and congratulate the member for Rockingham,
and Jack, Dotty and Ziggy. There is a Peppa at home who I am sure would love to
meet Bowie at some point!
Obviously, I am aware of the
situation at Ravensthorpe and in the lithium market more generally. It is
something that we are seeing around the world. The member would have seen the
news yesterday in relation to the share prices of lithium producers in
Australia, which rose without the price of lithium rising. There are lithium
issues around the world, including some lithium operations in China that might
be closing down due to the lithium price, which
I think is around $US780 today. We know that lithium prices have fallen
significantly since the highs in 2022 . That has largely been off the
back of rising global lithium supplies and falling demand. We are not seeing the demand for electric vehicles and batteries
that was predicted. As the member well knows, given his background , the
cyclical nature of the commodities market is something that Western Australia
and the mining industry worldwide deals with all the time, and has done for a very
long time.
I am very much aware of the
challenges. We continue to talk to producers in Western Australia—some
operating and some potential or prospective
producers. We will continue to support the mining industry. We are doing things
like the approvals and Environmental Protection Authority reforms that passed
through this chamber yesterday. The Minister for Environment is doing some
great work on that. In my department, we have cleared a major backlog of the
program of works. When the Minister for Environment and I attended the Diggers
and Dealers Mining Forum recently, that was very much appreciated by the
sector. As some members might know, the Minister for Environment and I were in
Canberra for Minerals Week 2024 earlier this week. The approvals reforms and
clearing the backlog for new projects
is something that was very much appreciated. We will shortly be bringing
legislation to the Parliament to deal
with the Mining Act procedure issues that the Chamber of Minerals and Energy
and the Association of Mining and
Exploration Companies have been working with us on. Hopefully we will secure
some of the mining tenure issues.
Looking
at eligible mining activity, we can see that exploration is its lifeblood. We
are making sure that we continue the exploration incentive scheme and we
are also allowing for quicker—almost instantaneous—turnarounds
for those minor works. We are looking at important common-user infrastructure.
Lumsden Point will be important for the critical minerals industry. That is
currently being built. Next time the member is up there, he should go and have
a look at Lumsden Point, which is also supported by the federal government.
We will continue to support our
mining industry through price issues and falls in commodity prices, but we know
that in respect of critical minerals, the world is going to need a lot of
nickel and lithium. The University of Helsinki has said that for just the first
generation of the world's decarbonisation, we do not have enough proved
deposits of lithium and nickel in the world to produce the batteries that we
will need in the coming decades. Yes, although the price is low at the moment
because of some lumpy demand, and oversupply is obviously causing some issues
for producers, we know that the critical
minerals industry in Western Australia, especially, will have a very bright
future , and we will continue to support it.
I also welcome Bowie to the chamber and congratulate the member for Rockingham,
and Jack, Dotty and Ziggy. There is a Peppa at home who I am sure would love to
meet Bowie at some point!
Obviously, I am aware of the
situation at Ravensthorpe and in the lithium market more generally. It is
something that we are seeing around the world. The member would have seen the
news yesterday in relation to the share prices of lithium producers in
Australia, which rose without the price of lithium rising. There are lithium
issues around the world, including some lithium operations in China that might
be closing down due to the lithium price, which
I think is around $US780 today. We know that lithium prices have fallen
significantly since the highs in 2022 . That has largely been off the
back of rising global lithium supplies and falling demand. We are not seeing the demand for electric vehicles and batteries
that was predicted. As the member well knows, given his background , the
cyclical nature of the commodities market is something that Western Australia
and the mining industry worldwide deals with all the time, and has done for a very
long time.
I am very much aware of the
challenges. We continue to talk to producers in Western Australia—some
operating and some potential or prospective
producers. We will continue to support the mining industry. We are doing things
like the approvals and Environmental Protection Authority reforms that passed
through this chamber yesterday. The Minister for Environment is doing some
great work on that. In my department, we have cleared a major backlog of the
program of works. When the Minister for Environment and I attended the Diggers
and Dealers Mining Forum recently, that was very much appreciated by the
sector. As some members might know, the Minister for Environment and I were in
Canberra for Minerals Week 2024 earlier this week. The approvals reforms and
clearing the backlog for new projects
is something that was very much appreciated. We will shortly be bringing
legislation to the Parliament to deal
with the Mining Act procedure issues that the Chamber of Minerals and Energy
and the Association of Mining and
Exploration Companies have been working with us on. Hopefully we will secure
some of the mining tenure issues.
Looking
at eligible mining activity, we can see that exploration is its lifeblood. We
are making sure that we continue the exploration incentive scheme and we
are also allowing for quicker—almost instantaneous—turnarounds
for those minor works. We are looking at important common-user infrastructure.
Lumsden Point will be important for the critical minerals industry. That is
currently being built. Next time the member is up there, he should go and have
a look at Lumsden Point, which is also supported by the federal government.
We will continue to support our
mining industry through price issues and falls in commodity prices, but we know
that in respect of critical minerals, the world is going to need a lot of
nickel and lithium. The University of Helsinki has said that for just the first
generation of the world's decarbonisation, we do not have enough proved
deposits of lithium and nickel in the world to produce the batteries that we
will need in the coming decades. Yes, although the price is low at the moment
because of some lumpy demand, and oversupply is obviously causing some issues
for producers, we know that the critical
minerals industry in Western Australia, especially, will have a very bright
future , and we will continue to support it.
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