Western Australian Minister Don Punch has addressed the Critical Minerals Industry Luncheon in Bunbury, where he emphasised the importance of the southwest WA region’s role in supplying and processing critical minerals needed for the clean energy transition.
“Western Australia, including the southwest, has the ingredients to support global decarbonisation efforts,” Punch said.
“The southwest is home to the world’s premier hard rock lithium mineral deposit, located in the Greenbushes region. This has put the region in an enviable position – including the ability to attract significant investment in downstream processing from international players such as Albemarle.”
Notably, Albemarle recently pulled out of its $6.6 billion takeover of Liontown Resources, the operator of the Kathleen Valley lithium project in WA right as Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting gained a 19.9 per cent stake in Liontown.
The Critical Minerals Industry Luncheon was organised by the South West Development Commission in partnership with the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation, the Bunbury Geographe Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Collie Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The event served as a platform to showcase how the southwest WA region can further seize opportunities that are being presented as demand increases for the region’s commodities used in goods needed for the clean energy transition such as lithium batteries.
The event also provided a guide to help the region unlock jobs to serve WA’s future as a global green energy superpower.
“The transition to a clean energy future is opening up new opportunities for the southwest and wider Western Australia – and it has been valuable to explore these opportunities at the Critical Minerals Industry Luncheon in Bunbury,” Punch said.
Albemarle Australia country manager and vice president of external affairs Beverley East also spoke at the event.
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