For utilities planning large-scale renewable generation, storage and transmission projects, the focus is often on engineering, finance and grid integration.
Yet the viability of these projects rests on a less visible foundation: secure and scalable supplies of critical minerals.
The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) maintains that Australian mining will be central to whether the world can meet its renewable energy and electrification ambitions, and argues that policy and competitiveness challenges must be addressed to sustain that role.
“Without Australian minerals, countries will never be able to meet their renewable energy goals. Australian mining is essential to the supply of minerals required to build and maintain renewable energy infrastructure,” said MCA CEO Tania Constable.
The material inputs behind renewable technologies are substantial.
Around 400 tonnes of metallurgical coal are required to produce the steel for a single five-megawatt wind turbine. Copper is widely used in controls and cabling, molybdenum provides corrosion resistance in steel components, and rare earth elements are critical to generator magnets.
Battery energy storage systems require lithium, nickel and manganese, while electric vehicles depend on lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite and rare earths.
“To meet demand for electricity storage alone, the world will require 50 new lithium mines, 60 new nickel mines and 17 cobalt mines by 2050. Global mining investment will need to increase by around US$100 billion annually from current levels to produce the commodities required for net-zero emissions by 2050. That is an enormous task, particularly when it can take up to 16 years to develop a mine in Australia,” Constable said.
For Australia, she argues, scaling renewable infrastructure domestically and supporting global deployment will require expanded mineral production.
“If we are serious about meeting emissions targets, we need more of our critical minerals out of the ground. That means more lithium for batteries, more copper for solar panels and transmission lines, and more cobalt for electric vehicles,” Constable said.
According to the MCA, data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), Geoscience Australia and the Department of Industry, Science and Resources identify copper, nickel, lithium, rare earths, graphite and cobalt as central to low-emissions energy technologies.
Copper underpins wind turbines, solar arrays and transmission infrastructure. Cobalt, nickel and rare earth elements feature prominently in turbine systems and batteries. And uranium remains a significant contributor to zero-emissions baseload generation in many markets.
Australia’s resource base provides a strong platform. The country holds the largest known uranium resources globally – around one-third of the world total – and is among the leading producers.
More broadly, Australia’s geological endowment, established mining capability and skilled workforce have underpinned decades of large-scale mineral production.
However, Constable stresses that global competition for capital is intensifying.
“In today’s competitive global marketplace, comparative advantage can vanish quickly. Increasingly, global investors are asking where companies can produce and innovate at the lowest energy cost with the lowest emissions,” she said.
She contends that rising domestic energy costs are a growing concern.
“Escalating electricity and gas prices are eroding Australia’s competitiveness at precisely the moment affordable, reliable and low-carbon energy is becoming the defining factor in global investment decisions,” Constable said.
For utilities, long-term reliability of supply is as important as total volume. Australia’s established regulatory frameworks, transparent governance and strong mining and processing capabilities underpin its reputation as a dependable supplier to Asia, the United States and Europe. Yet, according to Constable, that position cannot be assumed to be permanent.
“Australia cannot rest on its hard-won reputation as a reliable supplier of the minerals the world needs. A more supportive policy environment is required if we are to remain competitive against other jurisdictions that are hungry for mining investment,” Constable said.
She argues that the industry’s capacity to meet future demand depends on its ability to attract sustained investment.
“The minerals industry’s ability to grow and compete globally as a reliable supplier depends on attracting investment in exploration and in the development, construction and operation of mining and minerals processing projects,” Constable said.
The scale of projected demand growth reinforces that urgency. Under the IEA’s Stated Policies Scenario, lithium demand could increase fivefold by 2040, graphite and nickel demand may double, and demand for cobalt and rare earth elements could grow by 50 to 60 per cent. Copper demand is projected to rise by around 30 per cent. The IEA has also flagged potential supply-demand deficits by 2035 of 30 per cent for copper and 40 per cent for lithium.
“Growth in demand from global electrification and renewable energy generation will put immense pressure on mineral supply chains. Declining ore grades, rising capital costs and fewer major discoveries present additional challenges,” Constable said.
“However, Australia’s minerals industry has always been a leader in developing and implementing new technologies, driving efficiencies in complex operations while meeting high sustainability standards.”
Collaboration across the energy and resources value chain is also critical. MCA member companies engage with utilities, manufacturers and project developers to align supply with projected infrastructure demand. This includes assessing logistics, export infrastructure, forward contracts and expected market growth.
Because mines are typically planned years before construction begins, companies must make long-term judgments about future demand and regulatory certainty.
Constable said local processing and value-adding are increasingly prominent in policy discussions.
“Efficient local processing and value-adding in Australia relies on lower or equivalent costs to other jurisdictions. That particularly applies to labour and energy costs, which are both significantly higher in Australia than in many other countries,” she said.
Policy settings, she argues, will be decisive in determining Australia’s future position.
“Compared to many other mining countries, Australian projects face high effective tax rates, slow and complex regulatory approvals, relatively high labour and construction costs, and rising energy prices,” Constable said.
“Australia’s vulnerability to competition for mining investment from other resource-rich economies with lower input and regulatory costs and faster approval processes is only growing.”
To strengthen Australia’s standing, she advocates measures including support for free markets and transparent price discovery, the development of a functioning strategic reserve to help supply chains navigate an immature global market, and investment in multi-user infrastructure such as ports, roads and rail networks that enable critical minerals mining and processing.
As electrification and renewable deployment accelerate, Constable sees the industry’s role evolving.
“Australian mining is shifting from simply extracting bulk commodities to becoming a strategic supplier of the minerals, metals and materials that make electrification and renewable energy possible,” she said.
“That means producing with lower emissions, producing more at home where it makes economic sense, and anchoring lower-emissions energy supply chains.”
For more information, visit minerals.org.au
This article appears in the March/April 2026 edition of Utility. Subscribe HERE.
