WA Mines Minister David Michael has ruled out royalty relief for lithium producers in the immediate term, but insists he is listening to the concerns and needs of industry.
Mines Minister David Michael has ruled out royalty relief for lithium producers in the immediate term, but insists he is listening to the concerns and needs of industry.
Mr Michael fronted a media conference at the final day of the Diggers & Dealers Mining Forum, a day after Liontown Resources chief executive Tony Ottaviano called for lithium market support.
Mr Ottaviano, whose company recently achieved first production at its Kathleen Valley project in Western Australia, said there was a risk lithium could go the same way as nickel without early support from government.
Asked about that commentary today, Mr Michael put a line through immediate lithium royalty support, saying royalty relief was “not a silver bullet” for the sector.
“My commitment is to continue to work with industry and listen to them,” he said.
“Someone like Tony is obviously incredibly impressive in what he’s been able to do in delivering his milestones recently, and in his career, so I value his comments around what he thinks government should do.
“My commitment is to continue to listen to industry in the whole critical mineral space about what government is able to do to assist them.”
Mr Michael said he would continue to discuss options with industry and peak bodies representing the mining sector.
His comments followed those earlier in the day from Patriot Battery Metals boss Ken Brinsden, who led Pilbara Minerals' development of the Pilgangoora lithium project in the state's north.
Mr Brinsden led Pilbara when the state's last round of royalty relief was rolled-out by government amid a downturn, and said government often moved too slowly.
"It takes a long time to get the politicians across the line," he said.
"We did actually achieve some royalty relief in the last cycle. It took about twelve months to get there, which is kind of a shame.
"I think in such a dynamic industry, you've got to be prepared to be a bit more flexible."
The minister also spoke on recent redundancies across the industry, including a move by Mineral Resources yesterday to slash its white-collar workforce.
“These are things we’ll continue to monitor,” Mr Michael said.
“Job cuts obviously are concerning, but as an industry as a whole I’m still pretty confident that [mining] has, in the short and obviously the long term, a pretty bright future. Especially for employment.”
Mr Michael also ruled out overturning the government’s ban on uranium mining, a hot topic over the course of the Diggers & Dealers event this year after its introduction by WA Labor in 2017.
“We do have a policy, and there’s no intention to change it,” he said of the state’s uranium stance.
The Liberal Party of WA has pledged to overturn a uranium mining ban should it win government next year.
