MIM HOOK: Tim Ayres is Federal Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science and is joining us this morning here on ABC Gippsland. Now, Tim Ayres was in the room when Anthony Albanese and Donald Trump signed recently the critical minerals deal between US and Australia. There's a document called the “initial pipeline”. On that document is one Gippsland project, and it's the magnesium from the Latrobe Valley. And we spoke to the CEO of Latrobe Magnesium last week. That project's pretty established. They're making magnesium from ash, fly ash from the power stations. And he said, the CEO said there's about 50 years of supply there for that magnesium project. Tim Ayres, Federal Minister with the Labor Party for Industry, Innovation and Science. Welcome to ABC Gippsland.
SENATOR TIM AYRES, MINISTER FOR INDUSTRY AND INNOVATION AND MINISTER FOR SCIENCE: Hey, g'day. It's great to be on the show.
HOST: The Initial Pipeline, what would that mean for Latrobe Magnesium being mentioned? What does that mean for that company?
AYRES: Well, it means that it's on the top shelf for investment and progress as a result of the critical minerals deal that the Prime Minister signed with the President of the United States last week. This is a pretty exciting project for the Latrobe Valley, as you said in your introduction, processing magnesium from fly ash. That's there as a result of the activity of the big power stations, about 50 years' worth of resources, as you indicated. So, that is a long-term project, magnesium. For your listeners, you remember when you went to school, the little magnesium strips that you'd light up in chemistry classes. It's a vital critical mineral that's used in aircraft production, in weapons systems, in protective gear, that's used in defence and fire applications. So, it's a really important mineral for the world. This agreement between the United States and Australia is really about both countries seeking to diversify their supply chains and, for Australia, securing local production of critical minerals. So, we're not just exporting ore overseas or the raw product, we're making the product here in Australia, delivering good jobs, including in this case, in the Latrobe Valley.
HOST: So, this is the initial pipeline document with Latrobe Magnesium mentioned. Over in East Gippsland, there's a potential proposed critical minerals mine. Things like zircon would be mined there. It's at Glenaladale area, also sometimes called Fingerboards, the Fingerboards Mine or the Glenaladale project through Gippsland critical minerals. Is this project on your radar federally, Tim Ayres?
AYRES: Yes, it is. And there are, I mean, Australia is in a, you wouldn't want to be anybody else in the world at the moment in –
HOST: Unless maybe you're one of the farmers whose farm borders –
AYRES: Well, let me come to the environmental questions, but just, you know, from Australia's national interest perspective. We have the whole periodic table basically under the ground. You know, all of the critical minerals, almost all of them, we have in vast quantities. We have enormous amounts of space. We have big solar and wind resources, which means we can produce the products that the world needs for the new industrial economy –
HOST: But what about that particular mine at Glenaladale? It is on your radar. Is it going to be on the second stage of the federal US-Australia critical mineral pipeline program, or is that one just for state government to sort out?
AYRES: It's hard to say how quickly each individual project will proceed. This deal will give the proponents of those projects real confidence to move ahead. It means that we're crowding in private investment capital to support the development of these projects. But as I keep emphasising, what I want to see is not just mining activity – that's really important, but also onshore processing and manufacturing attached to that, so that we're exporting the metal products, not just the ore offshore. That secures our future economic diversification and economic resilience, and the future of blue-collar jobs in the regions –
HOST: Where are you seeing this process, this for processing the critical minerals? Is there, would there be a potential for that to happen in Gippsland, Tim Ayres?
AYRES: Well, that's what I want to see. I want to see local jobs, local contractors. One of the good things about this, about this Latrobe Magnesium project, is, you know, they have told us they are employing 100 per cent local contractors, 100 per cent local supply chain. That means not just the direct jobs engaged in this, but Latrobe contractors, you know, in the valley, all getting a go and making sure that the local economy does well out of this. So, you know, I want to see a Future Made in Australia, but I want to see a Future Made in the Valley as well. And I'm really encouraged by the absolutely pro-the-valley approach that this outfit has taken. And I want to see all of the projects engaging local contractors. That's why we've got the Community Benefit Principles attached to the Future Made in Australia Act, which is about driving investment in local jobs, local procurement, local contracts.
HOST: You're hearing from Tim Ayres, Federal Minister for Industry and Innovation. What's your message to the Victorian Labor government on moving ahead or not moving ahead with critical minerals projects?
AYRES: Well, I'm very optimistic about the opportunity here for regional Australia, we want to work in lockstep with state governments on these questions.
HOST: And is it going well? Are the Victorian government and you working together on moving ahead with projects here?
AYRES: I'm absolutely delighted with the cooperation and enthusiasm of the state governments in each of the jurisdictions. We've just come away from securing a deal with the Queensland Government for the future of the Mount Isa mine and the Mount Isa smelter, that secures the industrial future of that region. You know, we get the best outcomes when all the levels of government work together. That includes in Victoria, of course. We're engaged in discussions with the Net Zero Economy Authority, with the Victorian government, with my department, to maximise the investment in manufacturing and good jobs in the valley. It's a real focus of activity for us, and I'm delighted to see that our overseas engagement, engagement with the United States, has put industrial policy and good jobs at the centre of that relationship.
HOST: Tim Ayres is Federal Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science and is speaking to you here, good morning, across Gippsland, because the initial pipeline of projects that US and Australia have signed a deal on with critical minerals. The initial pipeline includes the Latrobe Magnesium plant, and that's just the initial. Will there be more mines and projects announced, and when will that be?
AYRES: Well, we're going to work through those in a steady way. We're not all about, you know, press releases and announcements. I want to see those projects brought forward in a careful way with as much private investment as possible. This project has got behind it a letter from EXIM, the United States investment bank, expressing interest in up to the value of US $122 million. Export Finance Australia is named in that process as well. So, we've got not just agreement between the United States and Australia to prioritise this project, but cold hard cash from the governments that both invested in this project that will create private capital to make sure that this project gets the funding that it needs. So, we're going to work through these things in a careful way for upcoming projects. I want to see dozens and dozens of these projects around Australia. Critical minerals, mines and the factories that employ blue collar workers processing them, they don't happen in the CBDs or the inner cities of our capital cities; they happen in the regions. And that's what I want to see. That's what Future Made in Australia is all about. Good local jobs.
HOST: Tim Ayres, thank you for your time. Tim Ayres, Federal Minister for Industry Innovation and Science, here on ABC Gippsland.
ENDS.
