Category: Politics & Regulation

Rare earth spat simmers as China targets Japan’s military Ties between China and Japan have further deteriorated this month after Beijing imposed export bans on dual-use items headed for Tokyo.Dual-use items are goods, software or technologies that have applications across both civilian and military industries — most notably, including rare earth magnets that power motors in cars and play a major role in EVs.Japan Foreign Affairs Vice Minister Funakoshi Takehiro strongly protested the measures in a meeting with Chinese Ambassador to Japan Wu Jianghao, demanding their withdrawal.The restrictions came after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said, in November, that an attack on Taiwan from China could trigger a Japanese military response.Prime Minister Takaichi then proceeded to approve a record spending package for the fiscal year that included a 3.8% increase in the country's annual military budget to ¥9t ($85b).China’s commerce ministry claimed the export ban would only affect military firms. However, having civilian and military applications is what gives an item dual-use status and, despite Beijing’s confidence, the repercussions throughout Japan’s industries are yet to be determined.This is not the first time China has manipulated critical raw mineral exports to Japan.In 2010, China reportedly blocked exports to Japan after an incident in the East China Sea. Whether or not shipments were actually blocked was not determined.Though the threat may have been nothing more than political posturing, Japan was incentivised to secure supply chains and, alongside stockpiling and recycling efforts, invested heavily into rare earth project outside of China to reduce its dependence on Chinese rare earths.Continuing to spearhead this shift, a mining ship departed Japanese shores this week to investigate rare earth rich mud on a world first journey to attempt to continuously lift rare-earth seabed material from 6km deep onto a ship.Due to its proximal location to Asian markets, Australian rare earth producers have been an attractive investment opportunity for countries, like Japan, working to diversify supply chains.Victory Metals chief executive Brendan Clark says rare earths are not merely commodities, they are strategic enablers.“Rare earths have become a frontline supply-chain issue, and governments are racing to address over-reliance on China, both for supply of materials and for processing,” he said.“China’s expanding use of export controls is heightening concern and we expect increasing interest in Australian rare earth offerings as a strategic hedge.”Despite the global shift for alternate supply sources, China’s dominance is bolstered significantly by its processing capability — an area the rest of the world is severely lacking.According to the Japan Organisation for Metals and Energy Security, China leads the world in reserves and production of these minerals, controlling more than 90% of global refining capacity.“Chinese authorities will fiercely protect the processing knowhow held by their local experts, making it more important than ever to invest in expertise in jurisdictions such as Australia,” Mr Clark said.Rare earth processing outside of China is rapidly expanding, led by Lynas Rare Earths’ (ASX: LYC) facilities in Australia, Malaysia and the US as well as Iluka Resources (ASX: ILU) Eneabba refinery in WA.Victory Metals (ASX: VTM) is also leading the development of onshore processing capability for several rare earth elements currently under Chinese export restriction at its North Stanmore project in WA — making it one of the few western aligned sources of these defence critical materials.“The real value lies in processing capacity and industrial capability outside China, and Victory Metals is well-positioned to take advantage of this,” Mr Clark said.China’s recent moves are a fresh reminder to both governments and manufacturers that critical mineral supply chains can be leveraged for strategic advantage.

Australia prioritises military minerals in strategic reserve New details of the $1.2b Critical Minerals Strategic Reserve (CMSR) are emerging with the Federal Government confirming antimony, gallium and rare earth elements as early priorities. The announcement comes as Treasurer Jim Chalmers is scheduled to join a G7 meeting focused on critical minerals in Washington DC this Friday. In recent years, China’s dominance in the critical minerals sector has been a focal point of ongoing geopolitical tensions — particularly affecting G7 countries including the US and Japan.  With the development of the CMSR, the Federal Government is looking to leverage its abundant critical mineral reserves to diversify supply chains and shift China’s dominance. “The world needs critical minerals — Australia has plenty of them and our critical minerals reserve will help us weather global economic uncertainty and help to boost trade and investment,” Treasurer Chalmers said. "Ensuring we have a reliable reserve of these critical resources will strengthen supply chains and help to stabilise critical minerals markets.” The CMSR will secure rights to minerals produced in Australia and on-selling those rights to meet demand, giving an added boost to the critical minerals sector and strengthening reliable supply chains for trading partners Larvotto Resources (ASX: LRV), the developer of Australia’s largest antimony deposit, has voiced its support of the Federal Government’s plan. Larvotto managing director Ron Heeks says the Federal Government’s prioritisation of antimony validates the strategic importance of the company’s Hillgrove project in NSW. “Australia benefits from having a rich supply of critical minerals with the resources and expertise to produce these minerals responsibly,” he said.  “The strategic reserve supports the strong investment into the Hillgrove project and reinforces the importance of progressing final approvals efficiently as we move towards production in mid-2026.” Despite the urgency for diversification, Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King says Australia faces a long road to revenue with government seeking support for the industry which faces weak pricing and high startup capital.  “ the investment the Government is making in supporting the industry itself will be job-creating, both in the extraction side of the sector, but also in advanced processing and advanced manufacturing into the future,” she said. "There’ll be many upsides,  it won’t be revenue upside in the immediate term.  “ the outcome is yet to be determined, what we would hope for and have always advocated for is greater cooperation and collaboration with our international partners.” With a similar reliance on antimony, gallium and rare earths, the US has emerged as a major investor in the development of Australia’s critical minerals sector following the signing of a $13b critical minerals agreement between the countries in October last year. Minister King says that Australia as a nation is always dependent on international investments to build its industries and, despite the US’ recent interest in pursuing deposits in Greenland, Australia remains the superior choice for US investment. “Australia is recognised around the world as a globally important initiative into mineral exploration,” she said. “In the immediate, short to medium term, Australia is a much more desirable location  for extracting and processing minerals.”  

Court strikes down award limits on union delegates A Full Federal Court has ruled the Fair Work Commission (FWC) unlawfully narrowed workplace delegate rights in modern awards, ordering it to redo the award terms.The Federal Court found the FWC made three jurisdictional errors in varying modern awards to include a workplace delegates’ rights term.The court found the FWC impermissibly confined delegates’ representation rights to employees of the delegate’s employer, narrowed the statutory communication right and imposed absolute constraints that could unlawfully restrict the reasonable exercise of delegates’ rights.The ruling has sparked industry backlash, with Australian Resources & Energy Employer Association (AREEA) chief executive Steve Knott saying workers’ rights have been extended to engage with workplace delegates on the employer’s time and resources, provided only that they are eligible to be members of that union.“The laws create unprecedented new powers for unions, risk turning employees into de-facto union organisers, and apply across all workplaces, including non-union sites with no enterprise agreements,” he said.“ decision materially expands the scope of workplace delegate rights. It extends the right of workplace delegates, paid for by employers, to communicate with contractors and labour hire employees working at an enterprise, regardless of whether those workers are union members.”Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) chief executive Tania Constable has called the decision an “over-reach of union power”.“Today’s decision by the Full Federal Court to overturn the FWC’s orders that placed reasonable limits on the exercise of union delegate powers confirms that unions will continue to push for expanded powers which absolve union delegates of their obligations as employees and interfere with the normal performance of work,” she said.“The decision shows that the Federal Government’s Closing Loopholes legislation gives unions significantly more power than what the independent umpire determined was a fair and reasonable balance.“Australian mining companies are already feeling unprecedented cost pressures, including from industrial relations changes, mounting energy prices, lengthy and costly project approval delays and increased royalties – driving investment offshore to low-cost jurisdictions with poor environmental and emissions standards.”The MCA says it will work with other affected industries to closely review the decision and its implications and take further action as appropriate. 

Billion-dollar mine felled by a blue banded beeLast year, former Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek derailed Regis Resources’ (ASX: RRL) $1b McPhillamys gold project in NSW with a controversial Indigenous heritage ruling.Now more than a year later, the Federal Court in Sydney is hearing Regis’ case — with the company pleading that the decision should be deemed invalid due to alleged issues and failures on behalf of Minister Plibersek.Regis Resources has argued that the view held by the Federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) changed after additional evidence was produced by an independent Aboriginal elder more than a year after approval was granted.The Dreaming story that was given as evidence is considered controversial between Traditional Owners and Regis argues that further investigation should have taken place before the ruling was handed out.If Regis’ application is successful, the company will seek a declaration from a Federal Court judge that the Section 10 declaration is legally invalid and that the application be redetermined by a minister other than Minister Plibersek.Despite the contention, Minister Plibersek has remained adamant in her ruling.“The truth is we are living in a country where we've got thousands of years of continuous culture and heritage. We've done a pretty bad job of protecting it in the past,” Minister Plibersek said.“If we sincerely believe that we can't allow the destruction of cultural heritage in that way, then occasionally decisions like this have to be taken.“Protecting cultural heritage and development are not mutually exclusive. We can have both,” Minister Plibersek said.The ruling made in August 2024 — more than a year after the project was approved — denied the construction of a tailings dam near the Belubula River in an attempt to protect culturally significant land.“The Wiradjuri/Wiradyuri people, who traditionally lived around the Bathurst area, have significant spiritual and cultural connections to the headwaters of the Belubula River,” Minister Plibersek said at the time.“If this site were to be desecrated, it would be a threat to the continuance of Wiradjuri/Wiradyuri culture.“Crucially, my decision is not to stop the mine. The company has indicated to me that it has assessed around four sites and 30 potential options for the tailings dam.”Following the ruling, contrary to Minister Plibersek's declaration, Regis deemed the project as non-viable, stating it would take up to 10 years to identify and gain approval for an alternative tailings site, before taking out a non-cash impairment of $192m.The federal heritage protection system operates through Section 10 emergency declarations, which can override existing state approvals when sites face imminent threat of desecration. This power to operate independently from state mining approvals has created significant regulatory complexity.The Regis protection order challenge is an example of these two-tier regulatory system dynamics.During the initial assessment process, Regis consulted the Orange Local Aboriginal Council, who was believed to be the legally recognised Traditional Owner representatives of the region.In 2020, Wiradjuri Elder Aunty Nyree Reynolds lodged a protection application which failed to meet the required protection criteria. The application was made independent of the Orange Local Aboriginal Land Council and NSW Aboriginal Land Council.The NSW Government granted the McPhillamys project approval in 2023 but critical cultural evidence regarding the Blue Banded Bee Dreaming story emerged after approval was received, completely shifting the assessment trajectory.The federal protection orders were implemented in late 2024 despite the significance of the evidence being disputed between the Wiradjuri community.Under the federal protection system process, it was considered unnecessary to undertake additional consultation with Regis Resources.Following the ruling, Regis Resources chief executive Jim Beyer said the required restart of the approvals process with the NSW and Federal Governments could take up to 10 years, with no certainty of a viable alternative being realised.“Following the surprising and disappointing Section 10 Declaration by Minister Plibersek, Regis has commenced an assessment of the impacts on the economic value of our business,” he said.Regis Resources announced its decision to contest the ministerial decision shortly after, arguing the company was not afforded the opportunity to respond to the change in the application following the accumulation of new evidence.

WorkSafe has reported that the 53-year-old worker killed at Agnico Eagle’s Fosterville gold mine in Victoria on December 5 was operating a cable bolter about 1.6km underground when he became entangled in the machinery.The death is the 53rd confirmed workplace fatality for 2025 — an increase from the 48 work-related deaths reported at the same time last year.

A contractor working at Agnico Eagle’s Fosterville gold mine in Victoria has died following an underground incident on December 5. An investigation is being conducted in cooperation with local authorities to determine the cause of the incident. Agnico Eagle is working with the contractor to ensure support and assistance is provided to the individual’s family during this difficult time. 

The release of generative AI chatbot ChatGPT in late 2022 marked a turning point in technology as a previously fictional concept became readily available to the public.Though AI as it stands is a far cry from Skynet — The Terminator’s highly-advanced AI hellbent on launching a nuclear attack on humanity — it may still be wise for society to proceed with caution.

WorkSafe Victoria has charged the operator of Ballarat gold mine and a mining services company after a worker died and another suffered life-threatening injuries in March 2024.

The Federal Government has struck a deal with the Greens to pass the Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025, delivering on a five-year mission to reform Australia’s environmental laws.

The Victorian Government has issued Victory Minerals an infringement notice for failing to report a fire for more than two days at its Ballarat gold mine located in Mount Clear.