Author: Samantha Bawden

Australia and Japan have signed multiple bilateral agreements to strengthen cooperation across critical minerals, energy and defence sectors.Yesterday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi issued a joint statement on critical minerals cooperation, marking shared concerns about the concentration of critical mineral supply chains and its impact on downstream industries.This cooperation builds on the existing Australia Japan critical minerals partnership, launched in 2022, and is expected to drive coordinated investment in strategic projects across both countries to address urgent supply chain vulnerabilities.“Japan has been a long-standing partner in the development of Australia’s critical minerals sector,” Prime Minister Albanese said.“By working closely with Japan, we can attract greater investment in our critical minerals sector and further develop the sector, creating jobs and capability in Australia.”The Federal Government, through the Critical Minerals Facility and Export Finance Australia (EFA), is providing support of up to $1.3b to critical minerals projects involving Japan. The Government of Japan has, through JOGMEC, provided about $370m in investments and grants to the following projects, and plans to provide further investments and grants as they make their progress.Both Australia and Japan have already identified key projects that have the potential to materially diversify the supply chains for critical minerals including Lynas’ (ASX: LYC) rare earths project, Alcoa’s (ASX: AAI) gallium recovery project, Magnium’s magnesium project, Tivan’s (ASX: TVN) Speewah fluorite project, RZ Resources critical minerals project and Ardea Resources’ (ASX: ARL) Kalgoorlie nickel project.Australia and Japan has also agreed to work together to support the bilateral flow of essential goods including fuel and gas.According to the Federal Government, Australia provides about one-third of Japan’s energy supply and Japan is a major supplier of refined petroleum and diesel to Australia.Federal Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen says this collaboration will help secure fuel supplies for both Australia and Japan and shield consumers from global uncertainty.“"We are continuing to secure essential fuel supplies and work with partners around the world to strengthen energy security at home and abroad.”Prime Minister Albanese and Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi have also agreed to enhance defence and security cooperation between Australia and Japan. Key priorities will include co-development, co-production and co-sustainment of defence capabilities as well as advanced weapons testing, enhanced training and exercises, joint sustainment of assets and closer collaboration to secure supply chains and critical maritime routes.Australia and Japan will also address complex cyber security challenges by collectively hardening cyber defences, improving shared awareness and collaboration on cyber threats and critical technologies as well as building collective resilience throughout the Indo-Pacific.

Mastermyne Crinum Operations has been fined $7m after being convicted over the death of underground miner Graham Dawson in 2021 at the Crinum mine in Queensland.The District Court of Queensland sentenced Mastermyne Crinum Operations today after a jury in the District Court at Emerald found the company guilty of industrial manslaughter in March.Mastermyne has lodged a Notice of Appeal, with a hearing date yet to be determined.Resources Safety and Health Queensland (RSHQ) said the case marked the first time an industrial manslaughter charge had been brought under Queensland’s mining safety and health legislation since it came into effect in 2020.Mr Dawson was an experienced underground miner who was killed after the roof of the Crinum mine collapsed and crushed him.It took four days for Mr Dawson’s body to be recovered.At the time of the event, Mastermyne employed and managed the whole production workforce at the Crinum site.A spokesperson RSHQ said they investigated the incident and presented a brief of evidence to the Work Health and Safety Prosecutor.In sentencing, Judge Jeffrey Clarke said Mr Dawson’s death was avoidable and that Mastermyne’s criminal negligence contributed significantly to it.Mining and Energy Union general vice president Stephen Smyth said the conviction was a milestone for justice and accountability.“This conviction sends a powerful message to the industry that negligence resulting in the death of a worker will not go unpunished,” he said.“Workers have campaigned for these laws, and this decision reaffirms that all workers are entitled to a safe and healthy workplace — and also entitled to justice when safety is undermined.”The MEU says its Industry Safety and Health Representatives recommended prosecution after investigations indicated Mastermyne’s strata control systems were inadequate.The union has also raised concerns that the penalty could be covered by Mastermyne’s insurance arrangements and has called for the relevant laws to be amended to prevent this.

Electrical workers across BHP’s (ASX: BHP) Pilbara operations have voted to continue their industrial action, with bans on overtime and on-call work extended indefinitely.The action began on April 16 and marked the first strike in the Pilbara this century.Electrical Trades Union (ETU) WA secretary Adam Woodage says electrical workers want BHP to negotiate honestly and fairly to reach an agreement.“For more than a year we have been urging BHP to meaningfully negotiate with us,” Mr Woodage said.According to the ETU, WA Premier Roger Cook has made observations that negotiation is the path to a fairer, safer and more productive industry.“The message for BHP is this: It’s time to make a deal,” Mr Woodage said.A BHP spokesperson says the company does not expect any operational impacts from the industrial action. “Our focus remains on safe, reliable operations, supporting the wellbeing of our workers in the current environment and continuing constructive bargaining," they said. The Australian Mining Review has reached out to Premier Cook for comment.

Humans innately desire predictability. During times of crisis, it’s only natural to seek a sense of control in an unpredictable environment.While the concept of preparedness is part of our basic survival instincts, it took root as a broader movement during the Cold War as fears of nuclear annihilation ran rampant.During this time, the US Government encouraged citizens to build fallout shelters and schools even ran bomb drills — not that there’s much anyone can do to survive a mushroom cloud.Out of this anxiety, a survivalist movement grew.Survivalists, or doomsday preppers, are traditionally associated with extremism in the form of right-wing conservatism and radical anti-government conspiracy theories.The stereotypical survivalist is a white, backcountry, conservative male who may or may not also be bordering on deranged. However, as anxiety about the state of the world rises, the number of preppers globally are growing and as a result, the demographic is changing.During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, prepping moved from a fringe culture to a mainstream response — and one that kind of seemed reasonable.With the cost of living rising and supply chains being frequently disrupted by geopolitics and extreme weather events, this movement is growing in popularity as everyday people seek self-reliance.Though the average person is unlikely to have months’ worth of supplies stockpiled in a bunker in case of complete societal collapse, they now tend to err on the side of caution.This is evident if you grab an extra carton of eggs when the shelves look a little sparse. Or if you decide to head down to the servo and fill up after reports that fuel prices are going to jump over night.These seem like perfectly reasonable decisions. The problem is when individual rationality morphs into collective irrationality.What starts out as a handful of somewhat sensible people taking minor proactive measures can quickly escalate into many people making the same decisions simultaneously. And when that feared scarcity is unfounded rather than genuine, panic buying can create the very shortages it is intended to insulate against as collective action overwhelms fragile systems.This is the panic buying paradox. And we are seeing it in real time with fuel supplies.People are rushing to buy fuel because they think it will run out, and it’s running out because they are rushing to buy it.At an industry event this morning, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called panic buying “pretty bloody stupid”. Despite this sentiment, when I see others filling up portable fuel tanks at the bowser, I am overcome with a nagging sense that those people know something I don’t.Present concerns are understandable with Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz driving crude oil prices well above US$100 a barrel.The Philippines have already declared a national emergency due to severe fuel shortages. And in Australia, fuel prices have increased by about 40% since the start of the war.Most Australians don’t panic buy or hoard supplies; they buy a little extra “just in case”. Are you buying an extra packet of toilet paper when the shelves look a little low? That seems reasonable when you remember the COVID-19 toilet paper crisis of the not-so-distant past. Are you a mobile business owner that just saw media coverage suggesting fuel could be 40% more expensive tomorrow? You might want to grab your keys and fill up. On second thought, grab your jerry can too.The problem isn’t that these decisions are irrational; it’s that these “just-in-case” purchases are combining with a “just-in-time” supply chain. This means stock is on trucks, not in back rooms. This keeps costs low, but it also assumes tomorrow will look exactly like today. Even a small shift along the supply chain can look like a complete system failure.During the pandemic, we saw what happens when supply chains fail to absorb external shock. Those wounds are barely healed. As a new crisis looms, it’s understandable that people want to take matters into their own hands.A perceived lack of transparency, fairness and compassion from decision-makers during unprecedented crisis eroded Australian’s confidence in their governments ability to protect them. Many Australians now are untrusting of the government to plan for times of crisis. Fairly so. The pandemic demolished public trust.Australia sits at the end of a very long and fragile fuel supply chain. Much of what we consume passes through the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Iran. The cascading effects of the war are now dramatically interfering with our supply chains.Rather than labelling people queuing at petrol stations as irrational, we should acknowledge that we don’t know their personal circumstances. We don’t know if their livelihood depends on their access to a vehicle. We don’t know if the fuel will be used to run essential generators. Possibly most importantly, we don’t know if they have the capacity to absorb a 40% rise in fuel prices.Even if you think doomsday preppers are batty and panic buying is “un-Australian”, the lesson isn’t that people are irrational: it’s that our supply chains are ineffective.Neither survivalism nor panic buying is inherently evil. But neither is virtuous if it comes at the expense of others. The goal shouldn’t be to outlast everyone else in a crisis — it should be to build a society where there is no need to stockpile in the first place.Although politicians are urging the public not to panic, they risk encouraging the opposite effect and further fostering fear. It seems the next plight the government faces is a crisis of trust.Off the Record is The Australian Mining Review’s weekly column. 

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the Federal Government will commit more than $45m across four years in the upcoming Budget to accelerate project approvals under the EPBC Act.Speaking at a WA Chamber of Minerals and Energy event this morning, Prime Minister Albanese confirmed that Federal and State Government approvals will be combined into a single-touch process with the aim of fast-tracking new energy, housing and resources projects.The WA Government has signed an MOU to begin formal negotiations for a bilateral assessment agreement, with a bilateral approval agreement intended to follow.“Twenty years ago, the median approval time for a project under the EPBC Act was 48 weeks,” Prime Minister Albanese said.“When we brought our reforms into parliament, the median timeframe had blown out to 118 weeks.“Too often, that means investors simply walk away, communities miss out on jobs and people miss out on new energy or housing.“We took action to fix this — and we are building on it today.”As part of the upcoming Budget, the Federal Government will contribute $552m toward the $1.1b first-stage upgrade of Anketell Road, with the WA Government matching the funding. The upgrade is intended to reduce traffic and improve safety on Rockingham Road and surrounds whilst also lessening the number of trucks on residential streets.Prime Minister Albanese also provided an update on Australia’s fuel security, confirming the Federal Government had secured 400m additional litres of diesel on top of regular supply.“There is more petrol and diesel supply in Australia today than there was on February 28,” Prime Minister Albanese said.As the conflict in the Middle East enters its ninth week, the Federal Government is prioritising domestic fuel production as part of the upcoming Budget but maintains the importance of Australia’s gas export industry.“The people of Australia have every right to expect Australian gas to be affordable for our economy — for industry and households alike,” he said.“Our gas exports are directly linked to our national fuel security. And the middle of a global fuel crisis is the worst possible time to jeopardise these partnerships, or the investment that underpins them.“This is why I can confirm that the Budget will not undermine existing contracts on gas exports.”The Federal Government will release its official Budget on May 12.

WA miners and explorers affected by fuel security issues are now able to apply for exemptions on minimum expenditure requirements for their tenures.The new policy, enacted by the WA Government, aims to ease the cost burden on local companies amid an ongoing period of elevated fuel prices.Minimum expenditure requirements are a central feature of WA's mining tenure system, intended to promote active exploration and development and deter land banking or tenement warehousing.However, the WA Government recognises that given prevailing fuel security issues, strict compliance with expenditure requirements may be contrary to the interests of the state.WA Mines and Petroleum Minister David Michael says the WA Government is committed to easing the burden on its mining sector."I'm acutely aware that the high cost of fuel and in some cases supply issues are creating significant challenges for our exploration and mining sector,” he said.The new policy will be reviewed at the end of 2026.

Fortescue (ASX: FMG) has significantly boosted its green energy spend to fast-track the delivery of its Pilbara green energy grid as the company finishes Q3 with a cash balance of $5.89b .During Q3, Fortescue shipped 48.4mt of iron ore, a 5% year-on-year increase, bringing the total volume for FY26 so far to a record high of 148.7mt, despite major weather disruptions impacting production at its Iron Bridge operations and lower realised hematite prices.Hematite C1 unit costs were 4% lower than the previous quarter, contributing to an average unit cost of US$18.52/wmt for the first three quarters of FY26.The company finished the quarter with a net debt of $2.24b after recording a capital expenditure of about $1.28b and a payout of $1.82b in interim dividends.Fortescue also confirmed its board had approved an additional $954m spend on top of the already approved $8.7b , to develop new green energy infrastructure to meet growing industry power demands, largely driven by data centres.Fortescue metals and operations chief executive Dino Otranto says the company is already seeing the benefits of decarbonising its operations.“Given volatility in global energy markets, there’s never been a clearer reason why this matters,” he said.Unlike other large renewable hubs, which feed intermittently into national or other power systems, Fortescue’s off-grid system is expected to be the largest of its kind dedicated to decarbonising major industry.Fortescue anticipates the 290MW of installed renewable capacity to meet the fixed energy requirements of its ore processing facilities, enabling daytime “green processing” across its Pilbara operations, by early 2027.The system is expected to ramp up to power all of Fortescue’s operations for 24-hour periods completely without fossil fuels by the end of 2027, well ahead of the companies previous Real Zero by 2030 target.Fortescue executive chairman Andrew Forrest says the company is already demonstrating in the Pilbara that heavy industry can operate on a fully integrated renewable grid.“We are now extending this model to new customers, particularly data centres, helping meet one of the fastest growing sources of demand in the world,” he said.Fortescue is expecting full completion of its Pilbara green grid by the end of 2028, which includes 1.2GW of solar capacity, more than 600MW of wind generation and 4-5GWh of battery energy storage.During the quarter, Fortescue also completed its acquisition of Alta Copper, making its official move into the copper industry as it took over ownership of the Cañariaco copper project in Northern Peru.

A worker has died at a quarry in Sheldon following a fatal forklift incident. Resources Safety and Health Queensland (RSHQ) has confirmed it is investigating the incident and enquiries are underway. “Our thoughts are with the worker’s family, friends and colleagues during this difficult time,” a RSHQ spokesperson said.