Australia will prioritise antimony, gallium and rare earth elements as part of its A$1.2 billion ($802 million) strategic reserve, it said on Monday, as its Treasurer Jim Chalmers prepares to join a G7 meeting to discuss critical minerals.

Australia and several other countries are joining a meeting of finance ministers from the Group of Seven advanced economies in Washington on Monday on the subject, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said over the weekend.

Most of the G7, which includes the United States, Britain, Japan, France, Germany, Italy and Canada – with the European Union also taking part – are heavily dependent on rare earths supplies from China. The group last June agreed on an action plan to secure their supply chains and boost their economies.

Australia, among the world’s leading producers of critical minerals, has been developing a strategic reserve to mitigate supply chain vulnerabilities which it plans to make available to allies.

It will also manage offtake agreements and intermediary demand and supply aggregation, as well as stockpiling and contracts for difference, King said.

Contracts for difference are a tool that helps manage price risk from when a contract begins, to when it is delivered.

Australia signed an agreement with the U.S. in October aimed at countering China’s dominance in critical minerals. It included an $8.5 billion project pipeline and leverages Australia’s proposed strategic reserve, which will supply metals that are vulnerable to disruption.

Source: Reuters