Coffee with Samso - Insights: Critical Metals - The Real Meaning and Path Australia should play in the Clean Energy Revolution.

Coffee with Samso Episode 199 is all about the meaning of Critical Minerals for Australia. Are we spending the right amount of money?

The low-emission world loves these two words and in resource-rich Australia where we are world leaders in supplying the feedstock for the world, are we sheep or should we start to be smarter with our fund allocation? Should we play our own game and be one controlling the weather and be smart with our resources?

Should we be asking, are all metals critical and who are the beneficiaries of the critical nature of these metals? Should Australia be a more important part of the future Clean Energy Revolution?

In today's episode, we talk to a man who gives us thoughts to ponder and maybe actions to take. Are all metals critical and what does critical mean? Should we look at the real meaning and outcome of the term Critical Metals?

Tim Craske is here because I read his abstract for the recent AUSIMM Conference on Critical Minerals.

Australia’s list of critical minerals all occur in abundance. As a nation of suppliers of raw materials, are these metals critical at all for Australians?

Or are they just critical for the commodity markets that we deliver into?

As we have seen recently with external pressures on commodity prices, lithium and nickel can be critical EV battery components yet be subject to more cyclical price volatility than major metals.

This makes Australian scoping and feasibility studies fragile, and investors nervous.

According to Tim, by taking a complex-systems thinking approach to modelling these new resources, we can have better outcomes. However, a systems-thinking approach will only be truly transformational if we develop downstream processing and manufacturing industries here in Australia.

This is described by CSIRO as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to reinvigorate our manufacturing and technology sectors.

Get yourself a coffee or your favourite beverage and watch or listen and see if Tim Craske makes any sense:

Chapters:

00:00 Start.

04:00 Introduction.

04:46 All about Tim Craske.

07:11 Did Western Mining influence your thinking today ?

09:38 What does Critical Metals mean to Tim Craske?

10:39 Australia List of Critical Metals is too long.

11:54 The problem with the Critical Metals List - Everything is not Critical.

12:27 The One and Only Critical Metal - Copper.

13:09 Is Coal a Critical Metal?

13:42 The UK Coking Coal Public Impression.

15:07 The Disconnect of the Carbon Footprint Discussion.

16:07 Changing Lithium Story.

16:42 Why Australia should recreate the Iluka Anomaly

17:10 Understanding the Long Term Marginal Lithium Market

18:55 Should Australia adopt an Indonesian model of investing a Downstream Process.

20:59 What is Australia willing to do to compete?

21:27 Do you think the recent discussion of banning "Dirty" nickel could happen?

22:40 An Example Why Banning "Dirty" Nickel will not work.

24:30 What should Australia be focusing on?

26:11 Understanding the China - Chinese Competitive Business Strategy.

27:24 Why does ASEAN embrace China and the West have an Anti-Chinese Perception?

29:48 Is there a colonisation concept being played out in the Critical Metals Story?

31:08 Where should Australia focus on with Critical Metals?

33:37 Mining of Copper is not that Green.

34:27 Nett Zero Emission.

35:30 Is Zero Emission a Fantasy.

36:48 The Indonesian Nickel Business

38:00 What would Nuclear Power do for the Australian Mining Industry.

38:35 Should Australia chase Tier 1 projects for sustainability of the industry?

40:53 The Power of Tier 1 deposits.

41:57 The Need for Governments to be more Understanding on Process of Mining.

42:35 Can Small Explorers explore for Tier 1 Deposits?

44:02 The lack of New Mines.

45:34 Raising money from the market to Test Geological Concepts is hard.

47:06 Can Australia develop a Downstream Resource Industry.

51:05 Difficulties of the REE Industry.

51:53 What could Spark a Mineral Exploration Bull run.

54:26 China needs the Critical Metals more than anyone else.

55:09 Understanding The Chinese Thinking.

55:40 The Government Loan is a Red Hearing.

56:30 The Dangers for the Mining Industry in regards to the way we treat Critical Metals.

57:12 Tim Last Words.

59:22 What Weather will do to Solar and Wind Farms.

59:54 The Nuclear Solution.

1:00:33 Conclusion.

 

About Tim Craske

• Tim Craske is a skilled and successful mineral explorer and mentor with over 40 years’ experience in project generation, exploration management and technical innovation gained in Australia, North and South America, Asia and East Africa.

• He spent his first 20 years with WMC Resources during which he discovered the Ernest Henry and E1 iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) deposits in the Cloncurry district, northwest Queensland. He was also involved in the targeting of the West Musgraves province for copper and nickel pegging the core licences on which all the deposits (Nebo, Babel and Succoth) have been found. 

• Since leaving WMC Tim has worked in both the junior and major company sectors including Exploration Manager for Sirius Resources up to the establishing of Nova as a prime prospect

• General Manager Exploration Consulting at Vale and Exploration Manager - New Commodities at Iluka Resources. 

• Tim Craske is Managing Director and Chief Facilitator for Thinker.Events and also a director of Thinkercafé.org that specialises in developing innovative thinkers, thinking organisations, and disruptive technology solutions for industry, education and government sectors.