The NSW Government will deliver a $250 million royalty deferral initiative for critical minerals projects and will examine the implementation of a rapid assessment framework for minerals mining projects.
The initiatives are the first actions of the NSW Government’s new Critical Minerals and High-Tech Metals Strategy, which sets a vision for NSW to become a global leader in critical minerals.
Currently there are 12 critical minerals mining and processing projects in NSW that are ready for investment. They need around $7.6 billion in capital investment value and are expected to generate about 4,600 jobs during construction and 2,700 ongoing jobs.
High initial investment costs for critical minerals projects are a barrier for the industry. The royalty deferral scheme will assist new projects in the early stages of development, ease financial pressures, attract investment to NSW and enhance the economic viability of the sector.
Another immediate action from the strategy is a joint Department of Planning Housing and Infrastructure and NSW Resources assessment to deliver greater certainty to the sector around the planning process for critical minerals projects.
The strategy outlines the vital role of critical minerals in supporting broader government priorities, including in the clean energy transition and driving domestic manufacturing.
The new Critical Minerals and High-Tech Metals Strategy focuses on five key pillars:
-
Encouraging exploration by minimising investment risk in greenfield exploration and promoting exploration in new areas,
-
Incentivising production by creating an attractive investment environment and removing barriers to help projects move from exploration to production,
-
Developing future-ready skills by providing training and education pathways to encourage careers in critical minerals mining,
-
Establishing resilient supply chains by examining local processing facilities, driving research and development, and investigating critical minerals recycling, and
-
Engaging local communities by ensuring responsible mining.
The royalty deferral will be an opt-in scheme where the first five years of royalties are deferred. It will apply to critical minerals projects which can start production between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2030, predominantly mine commodities listed on the Commonwealth Government’s Critical Minerals List and where the proponent has a market capitalisation under $5 billion.
The full Critical Minerals and High-Tech Metals Strategy is now available.
