{"id":73243,"date":"2023-04-07T06:06:32","date_gmt":"2023-04-06T19:36:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=73243"},"modified":"2023-04-07T06:06:32","modified_gmt":"2023-04-06T19:36:32","slug":"ccwa-critical-minerals-mb2890","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/ccwa-critical-minerals-mb2890\/","title":{"rendered":"CCWA Warns On WA Critical Minerals Mining Rush"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-73244\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/critical-minerals-mining.jpg\" alt=\"Critical minerals mining - Western Australia\" width=\"1200\" height=\"630\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/critical-minerals-mining.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/critical-minerals-mining-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/critical-minerals-mining-1024x538.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/critical-minerals-mining-768x403.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>New sites for mining critical minerals crucial to the clean energy revolution will have to go somewhere, but they cannot go anywhere says the Conservation Council of Western Australia (CCWA).<!--more--><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ga.gov.au\/scientific-topics\/minerals\/critical-minerals\">Australia&#8217;s critical minerals list<\/a> is based on global technology needs, including supporting the renewable energy revolution. Among the resource commodities considered to be critical minerals:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Silicon: which is used in the manufacturing of cells for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/panels\/\">solar panels<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Lithium: used in the production of EV and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/battery-storage\/\">home battery storage<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Rare-earth elements: a group of metals used in applications such as magnets for motors in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/electric-vehicles\/\">electric vehicles<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>On Wednesday, Western Australia&#8217;s McGowan Government announced an investment of $40 million to accelerate critical minerals discoveries in the state &#8211; the Sustainable Geoscience Investments package, which is included in the 2023-24 State Budget.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;The transition to clean energy represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for WA as economies around the world seek to secure their critical minerals supply chains,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au\/Pages\/McGowan\/2023\/04\/40-million-dollar-critical-minerals-investment-to-support-shift-to-net-zero.aspx\">said Premier Mark McGowan<\/a>. &#8220;No other Australian State comes close to matching our commitment to minerals and energy exploration, and WA continues to lead the pack by some distance.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Western Australia has and will continue to make out like a bandit from its various and vast resources. The state&#8217;s resources sector delivered a record $231 billion of sales in 2021-22.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Accelerating exploration activity is crucial to our State&#8217;s future economic success, and I am confident this funding will help the industry unearth WA&#8217;s next big discovery,&#8221; stated Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Johnston.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>CCWA: Learn From Past Mistakes<\/h2>\n<p>The Sustainable Geoscience Investments package includes an additional $16.1 million for the Exploration Incentive Scheme to increase greenfield exploration and create a new Geophysical Co-funding Program. The WA Government says the Geophysical Co-funding Program will support better decision-making around land use by excluding ground that shows little or no prospectivity.<\/p>\n<p>The Conservation Council of WA has seized on this element in particular, urging the McGowan Government to ensure whether there&#8217;s potentially anything of value to rip out of the ground isn&#8217;t the only criteria in decision-making.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cGCP decision making tools should not only exclude sites that have little or no prospectivity, but also exclude sites that have significant conservation, biodiversity or cultural values\u201d, said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ccwa.org.au\/critical_minerals\">Joe Heffernan<\/a>, CCWA Executive Director. \u201cProtection of our natural landscapes and native species must take precedent over any new mining.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>While acknowledging the need to increase production of the raw materials to support renewables, Mr. Heffernan stated there were many examples across Western Australia where mining projects have left a lasting legacy of environmental damage.<\/p>\n<p>WA is big. Not vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big. But big, and hopefully with enough space between particularly important bits to extract critical minerals needed without doing too much damage and creating a bunch of new problems in an attempt to address current challenges such as decarbonisation.<\/p>\n<p>On a related note: do we (the world) actually have enough critical minerals for a solar and battery powered future? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/critical-minerals-solar-batteries\/\">Discover the answer here<\/a> (no spoilers, sorry).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New sites for mining critical minerals crucial to the clean energy revolution will have to go somewhere, but they cannot go anywhere says the Conservation Council of Western Australia (CCWA).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":73244,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[678],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-solar-battery-news","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>CCWA Warns On WA Critical Minerals Mining Rush<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"New sites for mining critical minerals for the clean energy revolution will have to go somewhere, but they cannot go anywhere says the CCWA.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/ccwa-critical-minerals-mb2890\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"CCWA Warns On WA Critical Minerals Mining Rush\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"New sites for mining critical minerals for the clean energy revolution will have to go somewhere, but they cannot go anywhere says the CCWA.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/ccwa-critical-minerals-mb2890\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SolarQuotes Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-04-06T19:36:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/critical-minerals-mining.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michael Bloch\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@solar_quotes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@solar_quotes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/ccwa-critical-minerals-mb2890\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/ccwa-critical-minerals-mb2890\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Michael Bloch\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/66afd571aa00c2e442f0192ebac2f6f1\"},\"headline\":\"CCWA Warns On WA Critical Minerals Mining Rush\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-04-06T19:36:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/ccwa-critical-minerals-mb2890\/\"},\"wordCount\":505,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/ccwa-critical-minerals-mb2890\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/critical-minerals-mining.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"General Solar &amp; Storage News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/ccwa-critical-minerals-mb2890\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/ccwa-critical-minerals-mb2890\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/ccwa-critical-minerals-mb2890\/\",\"name\":\"CCWA Warns On WA Critical Minerals Mining Rush\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/ccwa-critical-minerals-mb2890\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/ccwa-critical-minerals-mb2890\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/critical-minerals-mining.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-04-06T19:36:32+00:00\",\"description\":\"New sites for mining critical minerals for the clean energy revolution will have to go somewhere, but they cannot go anywhere says the CCWA.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/ccwa-critical-minerals-mb2890\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/ccwa-critical-minerals-mb2890\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/ccwa-critical-minerals-mb2890\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/critical-minerals-mining.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/critical-minerals-mining.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"Critical minerals mining - Western Australia\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/ccwa-critical-minerals-mb2890\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Blog\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"General Solar &amp; Storage News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"CCWA Warns On WA Critical Minerals Mining Rush\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"SolarQuotes Blog\",\"description\":\"An independent reckoning of the Aussie solar scene\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"SolarQuotes\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png\",\"width\":592,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"SolarQuotes\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/solar_quotes\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/solarquotes\/\",\"https:\/\/au.linkedin.com\/company\/solarquotes\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SolarQuotesAustralia\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/66afd571aa00c2e442f0192ebac2f6f1\",\"name\":\"Michael Bloch\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c65d1fbade4404d88617552594a54366d8ca4a78bd617a48e64f9340c0b5dc09?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c65d1fbade4404d88617552594a54366d8ca4a78bd617a48e64f9340c0b5dc09?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c65d1fbade4404d88617552594a54366d8ca4a78bd617a48e64f9340c0b5dc09?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"caption\":\"Michael Bloch\"},\"description\":\"Michael caught the solar power bug after purchasing components to cobble together a small off-grid PV system in 2008. He's been reporting on Australian and international solar energy news ever since.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/author\/michael\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"CCWA Warns On WA Critical Minerals Mining Rush","description":"New sites for mining critical minerals for the clean energy revolution will have to go somewhere, but they cannot go anywhere says the CCWA.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/ccwa-critical-minerals-mb2890\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"CCWA Warns On WA Critical Minerals Mining Rush","og_description":"New sites for mining critical minerals for the clean energy revolution will have to go somewhere, but they cannot go anywhere says the CCWA.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/ccwa-critical-minerals-mb2890\/","og_site_name":"SolarQuotes Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/","article_published_time":"2023-04-06T19:36:32+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/critical-minerals-mining.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Michael Bloch","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@solar_quotes","twitter_site":"@solar_quotes","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/ccwa-critical-minerals-mb2890\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/ccwa-critical-minerals-mb2890\/"},"author":{"name":"Michael Bloch","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/66afd571aa00c2e442f0192ebac2f6f1"},"headline":"CCWA Warns On WA Critical Minerals Mining Rush","datePublished":"2023-04-06T19:36:32+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/ccwa-critical-minerals-mb2890\/"},"wordCount":505,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/ccwa-critical-minerals-mb2890\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/critical-minerals-mining.jpg","articleSection":["General Solar &amp; Storage News"],"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/ccwa-critical-minerals-mb2890\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/ccwa-critical-minerals-mb2890\/","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/ccwa-critical-minerals-mb2890\/","name":"CCWA Warns On WA Critical Minerals Mining Rush","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/ccwa-critical-minerals-mb2890\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/ccwa-critical-minerals-mb2890\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/critical-minerals-mining.jpg","datePublished":"2023-04-06T19:36:32+00:00","description":"New sites for mining critical minerals for the clean energy revolution will have to go somewhere, but they cannot go anywhere says the CCWA.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/ccwa-critical-minerals-mb2890\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/ccwa-critical-minerals-mb2890\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/ccwa-critical-minerals-mb2890\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/critical-minerals-mining.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/critical-minerals-mining.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Critical minerals mining - Western Australia"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/ccwa-critical-minerals-mb2890\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","item":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"CCWA Warns On WA Critical Minerals Mining Rush"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/","name":"SolarQuotes Blog","description":"An independent reckoning of the Aussie solar scene","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization","name":"SolarQuotes","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png","width":592,"height":600,"caption":"SolarQuotes"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/","https:\/\/x.com\/solar_quotes","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/solarquotes\/","https:\/\/au.linkedin.com\/company\/solarquotes","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SolarQuotesAustralia"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/66afd571aa00c2e442f0192ebac2f6f1","name":"Michael Bloch","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c65d1fbade4404d88617552594a54366d8ca4a78bd617a48e64f9340c0b5dc09?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c65d1fbade4404d88617552594a54366d8ca4a78bd617a48e64f9340c0b5dc09?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c65d1fbade4404d88617552594a54366d8ca4a78bd617a48e64f9340c0b5dc09?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","caption":"Michael Bloch"},"description":"Michael caught the solar power bug after purchasing components to cobble together a small off-grid PV system in 2008. He's been reporting on Australian and international solar energy news ever since.","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/author\/michael\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/critical-minerals-mining.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2FF2s-j3l","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":53011,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/phytomining-battery-metals-mb2117\/","url_meta":{"origin":73243,"position":0},"title":"Phytomining: Mining Battery Metals With Plants","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"August 16, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Researching the potential for plants to pull battery metals out of the ground has received backing from the Queensland Government. The renewable energy revolution requires a lot of resources - metals, metalloids and non-metals. While the bad news is these will have to be sourced through mining in its various\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Phytomining battery metals","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/phytomining-battery-metals-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/phytomining-battery-metals-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/phytomining-battery-metals-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/phytomining-battery-metals-2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/phytomining-battery-metals-2.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":70047,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/critical-minerals-australia-grants-mb2794\/","url_meta":{"origin":73243,"position":1},"title":"Towards Net-Zero: Critical Minerals Grants Guidelines Released","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"January 18, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The Albanese Government has released guidelines for a new grants program to support the development of Australia\u2019s critical minerals sector, which has the potential to play a much bigger role in global efforts to slash greenhouse gas emissions. What's A Critical Mineral? Australia's critical mineral list is based on global\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Critical minerals - Australia","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/critical-minerals-australia.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/critical-minerals-australia.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/critical-minerals-australia.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/critical-minerals-australia.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/critical-minerals-australia.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":37345,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/oz-minerals-renewables-mb1406\/","url_meta":{"origin":73243,"position":2},"title":"OZ Minerals Eyes Renewables For Billion Dollar Mining Project","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"February 13, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"OZ Minerals says renewable energy could help power its proposed West Musgrave copper and nickel project in Western Australia. The project, a joint venture between OZ Minerals (70%) and Cassini (30%), is located in the Musgrave Province of Western Australia and includes the Nebo-Babel nickel-copper and Succoth copper deposit. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Oz Mineral - West Musgrave","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/oz-minerals-musgrave.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/oz-minerals-musgrave.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/oz-minerals-musgrave.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/oz-minerals-musgrave.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/oz-minerals-musgrave.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":39625,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-storage-northern-minerals-mb1516\/","url_meta":{"origin":73243,"position":3},"title":"Solar + Storage For Northern Minerals Mining Project","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"May 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Soluna Australia and Northern Minerals have inked a letter of intent relating to the development of a solar power and battery storage facility at Northern Minerals' Browns Range operation in Western Australia. The Browns Range site is pretty much in the middle of nowhere - around 1,900 kilometres northeast of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Solar and storage for Browns Range","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/solar-storage-browns-range.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/solar-storage-browns-range.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/solar-storage-browns-range.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/solar-storage-browns-range.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/solar-storage-browns-range.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":79530,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/critical-minerals-bonanza\/","url_meta":{"origin":73243,"position":4},"title":"Australia Doubles Down on Critical Minerals to Counter China&#8217;s Dominance","author":"Richard Chirgwin","date":"October 27, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The federal government wants more of Australia\u2019s critical minerals like lithium to stay on these shores for battery manufacture, rather than being sent overseas, and has devoted another $2 billion to the cause. Prime minister Anthony Albanese\u2019s announcement said the decision was taken following the first Australia-United States Taskforce on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/lithium-mine3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/lithium-mine3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/lithium-mine3.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/lithium-mine3.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/lithium-mine3.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":70553,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/arafura-renewables-nolans-mb2811\/","url_meta":{"origin":73243,"position":5},"title":"Arafura Looks To Renewables To Power NT Rare Earths Project","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"February 1, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Arafura Rare Earths Limited has chosen a greenhouse gas emissions reduction pathway for its mining project in the Northern Territory. The Nolans Project site is 135 kilometres north of Alice Springs. It will include a mine, processing facilities and related infrastructure, and is considered a globally significant \"NdPr\" project. What\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Arafura Rare Earths Nolans Project","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/arafura-renewables-nolans.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/arafura-renewables-nolans.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/arafura-renewables-nolans.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/arafura-renewables-nolans.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/arafura-renewables-nolans.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73243","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73243"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73243\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73246,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73243\/revisions\/73246"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}