Lithium Valley Main Report 2018
In addition, approximately 12,275 construction jobs are expected to be created by 2025. WA is no longer remote nor positioned at the far end of global supply chains. It is at the beginning of many of them and convenient to the largest global markets. This strategic and economic advantage will likely continue to improve as the economic rise of many nearby nations continues and Indian Ocean Regional economies drive the next global growth super-cycle. The New Energy metals or New Energy industries opportunity is not just about the domestic Australian market, it is almost solely focused on exports to fuel WA’s trading partners in a win-win trade deal. Commonwealth and State policies are yet to reflect WA and Australia’s coming of age and its changing strategic role and associated opportunities. There is good reason to redress this oversight urgently. Trade routes are constrained, even as next generation freight vessels are poised to outgrow them. Trade flows are changing as new technologies change where it is best to refine and manufacture. Rising strategic tensions risk disruptions along the most heavily trafficked trade routes. Energy metals are at the centre of this realignment as nations race to secure access to these resources and leverage control of supply chains for economic and strategic advantage. WA, in addition to its arrival at the centre of current and future trade and development, can service the development of a complementary and comparatively secure southern trade route. WA is one of only a few locations around the world that can guarantee freer trade in New Energy metals while securing supply. This would be transformative for WA and Australia and represents an opportunity for WA’s trading partners to participate in and benefit from investments in supporting infrastructure and resulting regional growth if the Federal and State Governments can participate with the necessary urgency. The need for security of supply is a large strategic issue but so is the need for ethical supply chains which companies today must make part of their business case for location of their investments. WA has the second largest reserves of cobalt in the world. The largest cobalt reserves are in the Democratic Republic of Congo where ongoing social and security issues influence the ethical and sustainable supply. Western Australia, being a highly stable environment can claim to have largely overcome historical ethical issues in mining, processing and manufacturing. The wide spread in- digenous employment programs, strong environmental laws and proactive social justice initiatives make New Energy metals from WA, equal to the most ethically mined and processed in the world. As well as the economic driver in this New Energy metals and industry opportunity there is an element of strategic importance for Australia in the management of these vital resources that are becoming critical for the global economy. These issues are pursued in the report.
Page 16
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator