China today is the largest producer of precious metals that are essential for modern technology.
Australia has also been a major supplier of minerals, so today it is challenged to compete with China. Today’s increase in electric car production requires metals that meet new needs.
These metals are very expensive because they are rare. Apart from that, their processing is demanding and expensive but still, some of them have radioactive elements and therefore need proper processing.
The comparison of the two countries in terms of production is ‘incomparable’. Last year, Australia mined 17,000 tones of metals and China 140,000, except for those that may not have been declared.
China produces 58% of the world’s such metals and is also the first country to process them.
This helps it to produce important devices such as photovoltaics, wind turbines and electric cars in large quantities so that the price is competitive.
This raises concerns among its competitors, which is why Australia, India, Japan and the US are looking for ways to increase their influence in the Asian market.
As for Australia, the leaders believe that the country has good quality minerals but also the know-how to remain competitive.
[Source: http://www.theguardian.com]
