16 August 2023

The South Australian Government has declared copper a critical mineral for the state, country and world as economies seek to decarbonise.

Copper will be a key feature in the State Government’s forthcoming Critical Minerals Strategy, which will be shared with key industry bodies in coming weeks for feedback and consultation.

Copper is critical for new technologies, particularly those associated with electrification, and demand for copper globally is forecast to significantly outstrip currently available supply as the world’s economies increasingly shift to electrification.

By including copper in our critical minerals strategy, we follow similar-minded jurisdictions such as the European Union, Japan, India, China, Canada and the USA, which just this month officially added copper to its 2023 Critical Materials Assessment for the first time, in a historic move that reflects the growing importance of energy transition technologies.

In the June state budget, the South Australian Government committed over $2 million funding to a new Copper Taskforce.

The Taskforce will work alongside our state’s copper producers and explorers and develop a long-term strategy to grow the state’s position as a global copper heavyweight.

Importantly, South Australia commits to continue advocating strongly for the inclusion of copper on the national Critical Minerals list.

An official Commonwealth listing would be a powerful acknowledgment of the importance of copper to global markets, providing further opportunities for investment and helping drive the exploration and development activity needed to ensure our state benefits from the opportunity to supply copper to the world.

Quotes attributable to Tom Koutsantonis

We’ve always known copper is critical to South Australia, but now we’re making it official by showcasing it as we develop our critical minerals strategy.

I look forward to sharing our strategy more broadly once we’ve given industry stakeholders the opportunity to provide feedback.

We will continue to advocate at a federal level for the inclusion of copper on the national critical minerals list.