Critical minerals, the US war with Iran and a Scandium mine in NSW Australia

The US Department of War is going to invest in rural NSW. $566 million (AUD) will be invested in the Sunrise Syerstone mine in order to extract scandium. Scandium is a rare earth element which is considered a critical mineral – it has no viable alternative and may be subject to supply chain interruptions.

Scandium is used in a range of applications including military grade aircraft, electronics and renewable energy, and when combined with aluminium is ‘lightweight, strong, corrosion and heat resistant, malleable, good conductors of electricity.’ The US has not mined scandium since 1969, and now is dependent on China for rare earth elements.

The US and China have been engaged in a trade war since 2018. Last year China restricted the export of scandium and other rare earths by requiring exporters to have a special export licence and restricting those able to trade it for dual-use (military and commercial applications).

With the potential to grind defense development and EV manufacturing to a halt, the US signed an agreement with Australia that it would invest in Australian critical minerals mines, provide project financing, provide price floor arrangements, and coordinate downstream processing and off-take agreements. Other projects include gallium in Western Australia and rare earth elements mining in the Northern Territory.

The Sunrise mine in NSW could provide the world’s first high grade primary source of scandium globally. As the US rebuilds its critical minerals capacity, there remains to be seen whether the agreement will lead to further downstream benefits for Australia.

The Good Hegemon: How the United States helps People hold the Multilateral Development Banks to Account

The Good Hegemon

For decades the Multilateral Development Banks have had environmental and social policies to protect communities from direct harm resulting from MDB financed development projects. Over time the MDBs created accountability mechanisms to provide recourse for people adversely affected by loans for developing projects from the World Bank, World Bank Group, African, Asian, Inter-American Development Banks, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. This book examines how and why they emerged, how they have changed over time, and whether they change the culture of the Banks. It argues that the US helped people hold the development banks to account through pushing for their creation. Following from a tradition of using accountability mechanisms to control the MDBs, the US used the same processes to demand accountability mechanisms for justice. Over time it would demand the mechanisms be reformulated when they proved not to work. While they have become more transparent and responsive over time, the accountability mechanisms do not challenge the Banks culture of lending.

Get your copy of The Good Hegemon here

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