The Minerals Council of Australia believes countries that can offer an energy advantage are best placed to attract investment.
As countries battle for position and influence in today’s high-tech economy, the global race for investment is accelerating.
Around the world, governments are competing fiercely for capital to scale up industries, empower modern manufacturing, unlock critical minerals, secure supply chains and give their industries a competitive edge in a low-emissions future.
In this race, Australia should be a natural leader.
Our abundant minerals, skilled workforce, history of innovation and surplus of natural energy resources are of supreme advantage and collectively, the envy of the world.
But in such a competitive global marketplace, natural leadership is not guaranteed and comparative advantage can vanish quickly.
Escalating electricity and gas prices are eroding Australia’s competitiveness at the very moment affordable, reliable and low-carbon energy is becoming the defining factor in global investment decisions.
Countries that are attracting capital and turning ideas into built reality are those that can offer an energy advantage – making lower energy costs a vital economic imperative, including in support of sovereign manufacturing capability.
High energy prices continue to place significant pressure on Australian industry. Businesses are rethinking expansion plans and may even scale back employment and seek alternative locations as power bills rise.
This increasing burden is also putting pressure on Australia’s decarbonisation efforts.
Australian mining is deeply committed and heavily invested in emissions reduction, with large-scale decarbonisation already helping the country to meet its climate commitments.
The mining sector is at the forefront of developing the technologies that will help Australia reach net zero by 2050, while also relying on those innovations to drive its own transition.
Emissions reduction under the Safeguard Mechanism – where many emitting facilities will see their baselines decrease by 4.9 per cent annually to 2030 – is paired with a strong resolve to decarbonise.
Partnerships are leading the way to enable mining companies to focus on what they do best – extracting and processing minerals to meet growing global demand – while bringing in partners to supply energy, or in some cases build, own and operate renewable generation facilities.
Decarbonisation in practice
The Mt Weld rare earths operation in Western Australia, operated by Lynas Rare Earths, has transitioned from diesel to a hybrid gas and renewable energy solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lower power costs.
This has involved the construction and commissioning of a gas-fired hybrid renewable power station including the decommissioning of the existing diesel power plant. This transition aligns with Lynas’ goal of lowering emissions while also reducing the cost of power compared to a thermal-only solution.
The project integrates 7MW of solar, 24MW of wind, and a 12MW/12MWh battery energy storage system, enabling “engine off” capabilities.
The goal is to cover up to 70 per cent of the project’s energy needs with renewable energy, reducing its reliance on diesel and lowering emissions.
Zenith Energy worked with Lynas to spearhead the renewable transition at Mt Weld, overseeing the design, construction, and operation of a 65MW hybrid power station, supported by 24MW of wind capacity.
Newmont’s Cadia gold-copper mine in New South Wales operates one of the world’s most advanced automated underground networks, and the first-ever fleet of remotely controlled bulldozers on a private 5G network.
With energy critical to its operations, Cadia signed a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Rye Park wind farm in 2020. Since becoming fully operational in mid-2024, the wind farm provides about 50 per cent of the mine’s electricity, cutting emissions and stabilising energy costs.
Beyond energy, Cadia is also driving the energy transition. In 2022, the mine produced enough copper to manufacture nearly 21,000 3MW wind turbines, while also housing Australia’s only molybdenum plant, supplying a key ingredient in high-strength steel for turbine components such as shafts, gears and bearings.
Newmont is taking its renewable energy model nationwide. From 2027, the Collgar wind farm will deliver 70 per cent of power to the Boddington gold operation in WA, with solar and battery options also being explored.
At its remote Tanami operation in the Northern Territory, renewable projects are being developed to supply around 40 per cent of its power needs.
These projects and others, such as the implementation of a battery-powered shaft at its expansion project at Tanami, mark a major step in reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions across Newmont’s Australian operations and support the company’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
The energy reality
For the minerals sector, the energy transition must be managed in a way that protects Australia’s international competitiveness and does not overwhelm industry, businesses and households with unsustainably high energy costs.
Getting the balance right on lowering energy costs and emissions reduction has never been so important.
To win this race for enabling capital, and to maintain its competitiveness, Australia must act with urgency, embracing policy settings that put affordable and reliable energy at the centre of its economic strategy.
For mining, such a focus is not only paramount to keep current operations viable, particularly in the nickel and aluminium sectors that face cost pressures from global competitors aided by cheap energy and labour, but to ensure future projects and industries can proceed.
The ambition of Australia’s minerals industry to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 can only be achieved with a clear, stable and technology-neutral policy framework that attracts large-scale investment in decarbonisation supported by the development and deployment of emissions reduction technologies.
All technologies should be on the table if we are going to keep pace with a tech-driven economy, which means backing carbon capture and storage and removing the ban on nuclear energy.
And consistent policy will give industry the certainty it needs to invest and innovate while ensuring that Australia can meet its international commitments without costing jobs and reducing economic growth.
This feature appeared in the March edition of Energy.
