Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

We do have enormous opportunities in what are new, modern minerals to service a modern economy, not just for mobile phones but for solar panels. Solar panels require 16 different minerals for their construction, and 10 of those 16 minerals are produced here in Australia, so we have enormous opportunities. The mining industry has never been more important to the world than it is today.

We are making sure we are positioned to capture those opportunities in Australia. The federal government has signed an agreement with the US government to work together on critical minerals. The US has identified 35 critical minerals for its economy, and we produce 15 of those here in Australia. We've got one of the richest and most diverse supplies of minerals of any country in the world. This opens up enormous opportunities for Australia in lithium, mineral sands and rare earths. Through our northern Australia investments we're helping to create the jobs opportunities that will flow from that demand.