Canada, Australia strengthen critical minerals partnership
Canada and Australia have agreed to deepen cooperation on critical minerals as they move to strengthen supply chains and expand production of minerals essential to emerging technologies and defence.
During a visit to Australia by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, the two countries confirmed that Australia had joined the Critical Minerals Production Alliance, an initiative launched during Canada’s 2025 G7 presidency aimed at expanding critical minerals production and processing capacity from mine to market.
Carney and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also committed to strengthening collaboration on investment, standards and supply chain resilience across the sector. The two nations, both major producers of minerals critical to technologies such as batteries, electric vehicles and AI systems, plan to pursue common positions on key industry issues and promote supply chains aligned with high environmental and labour standards.
In a joint statement, the leaders said cooperation would include closer links between Australia’s Critical Minerals Strategic Reserve and Canada’s Critical Minerals Sovereign Fund, as well as the sharing of technical expertise related to geological mapping, extraction and processing technologies.
They also welcomed the development of a Canada–Australia mining skills exchange pilot programme, aimed at addressing labour shortages and supporting the expansion of critical minerals production in both countries.
Resources Ministers from both nations are expected to meet annually to advance progress under the bilateral critical minerals cooperation framework.
