The ambassador of Finland was busily working the corridors of power in Queensland this week, eager to offer the Nordic nation’s services to help kick-start a multibillion-dollar minerals production industry.
Queensland is flush with mineral deposits in the state’s north and northwest but industry experts have long warned of the lack of economic benefits to a “dig and ship” approach, with the real value coming from onshore processing and refining.
This is where Finland comes in, Ambassador Arto Haapea told this masthead in an interview, a nation highly regarded for developing mining and production technology.
The Crisafulli government last week unveiled its 2026-30 critical minerals strategy which flags investment in processing through local refining and manufacturing. This is broadly in-line with the federal government’s Future Made in Australia industrial policy.
“I would argue a lot of the Finnish technology is something that enables you to do that,” Haapea said.
“You need the technology partners that will help you get to that next level of processing, and there is a number of areas in the wide spectrum of minerals where Finnish counterparts would be more than happy to work with Australia.”
Finland, which joined NATO in 2023 in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has become increasingly vocal on geopolitical tensions.
Haapea stressed this global threat, stemming from Russia in Europe and China in the Asia Pacific, placed greater significance on collaboration on sensitive industries such as critical minerals and artificial intelligence.
This fear has triggered the creation of US-led global coalitions such as the Pax Silica Initiative, which both Finland and Australia are signatories.
“We really need to work together when it comes to critical minerals because there’s a reason why they are being called critical raw materials,” Haapea said.
“That’s just something that we are working towards, and we are always on the same side of the fence with Australians.”
Chris Vernon, CSIRO chief research scientist and critical minerals lead, said Queensland’s plan to accelerate approvals and project developments will be well-received by the industry.
But he said the promise to support downstream processing to refine and manufacture provided significant economic value.
“That’s what we’ve been missing in the critical mineral space,” Vernon told this masthead.
“These are not dig and ship opportunities – you really have to do some processing and refining to capture the economic value.
“It’s totally unlike iron ore, where you can get maybe a quarter of a value just from digging it up with a shovel. Critical minerals are worth pennies in the dollar as ores and concentrates, and to break into the market – particularly the ex-China market – you need to come to the party with something that’s a purified oxide or a metal or something that a manufacturing nation can use.”
The Finnish diplomat’s visit to Parliament and One William Street came just a week after meetings with US Consul-General Jeremy Cornforth, who will inspect critical mineral projects later this month.
The visiting international contemporaries come ahead of Premier David Crisafulli’s trade mission to the US later this month.
Natural Resources and Mines Dale Last told said the critical minerals plan to 2030 focused on cashing in on global demand and attracting international investment.
“Queensland is entering a defining decade with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to become a global supplier of critical minerals and the Crisafulli government is working with trusted trading partners to unlock the possibilities that lay beneath our feet,” he told this masthead.
“With accelerating global demand for critical minerals, Queensland is well-placed to capitalise.”
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James Hall is the News Director at the Brisbane Times. He is the former Queensland correspondent at The Australian Financial Review and has reported for a range of mastheads across the country, specialising on political and finance reporting.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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