Australia’s ambition to become a global critical minerals powerhouse will depend on trust, professional capability and the ability to attract future talent, according to AusIMM Chief Executive Officer Stephen Durkin and Queensland Premier David Crisafulli.
The two leaders spoke yesterday at the opening plenary of AusIMM’s Critical Minerals Conference in Brisbane, addressing 650 delegates.
The session set the tone for a conference focused on how the sector can turn Australia’s resource endowment into lasting national advantage.
Durkin opened by placing trust at the centre of the national conversation.
“Australia’s global standing, and our leadership in critical minerals, is built on trust,” said Durkin.
He said trust will shape the social and economic returns the sector generates, the international partnerships Australia builds and the contribution the industry makes to the country’s broader science and industrial ecosystem.
In his view, it is a core part of advancing the national interest in what he described as the critical minerals age.
Durkin said the conversation around critical minerals has changed fundamentally and now extends well beyond a simple resources opportunity.
“Critical minerals now represent strategic resources that are essential for securing supply chains and managing geopolitical risk,” said Durkin.
Premier Crisafulli said Queensland’s reputation for stability and high standards positions the state to play a leading role in meeting growing global demand.
He said the government is ready to work with industry and international partners, and that Queensland has a responsibility to ensure the right materials reach the right customers.
“Queensland is a trusted partner with clear standards, and we are open for business.”
The discussion then moved to a fireside conversation, where the two leaders explored professional capability and the need to draw on talent from across STEM fields.
Both identified these as decisive factors in determining whether Australia can realise its critical minerals potential.
Durkin described workforce and expertise as the foundation of the sector’s future.
“Talent is our ultimate sovereign capability,” said Durkin.
He said AusIMM is taking the lead in attracting the STEM talent needed to position Australia as a trusted global supplier of critical minerals, materials and expertise.
The professional body, he indicated, sees its role as extending beyond supporting current practitioners to building the pipeline of people who will shape the industry in the decades ahead.
Premier Crisafulli said the critical minerals sector presents a unique opportunity to change how the industry is perceived, and in doing so to attract people from a wider pool.
He said the sector’s growing profile allows Queensland to rebuild public understanding of why the resources industry is essential to the state’s prosperity and its standing globally.
The Premier’s comments reflect a broader effort across government and industry to make careers in resources appealing to people who may not have previously considered them.
By linking the industry to advanced technologies, supply chain security and national resilience, both leaders suggested the sector can present a more compelling proposition to graduates and career changers.
Both leaders also highlighted the way the resources sector builds STEM capability that supports economic growth across multiple industries.
Durkin said the value of critical minerals should not be measured only in immediate economic returns.
The industry, he said, develops and harnesses scientific and technical skills that are drawn from, and deployed across, the sector and the wider country.
That talent base, he argued, helps unlock a broader science and industrial foundation that is vital to the national interest.
The conference brings together industry, government and technical professionals to examine the opportunities and challenges facing the critical minerals supply chain.
The opening session made clear that, for both speakers, the sector’s success will be determined as much by people and reputation as by geology.
