US in talks with New Zealand over critical minerals project

A top US official has told 1News that talks with our Government over critical minerals include 'mineral extraction' in New Zealand.

It comes just after the US hosted a high-level meeting in Washington DC, in which 55 delegations – including from New Zealand – met to discuss creating a trade bloc to counter China’s dominance over the critical minerals industry.

Dominating emerging technologies has been a top priority for the Trump administration, which has been working to establish the United States as the global leader in areas such as artificial intelligence, batteries, and robotics.

Much of that though requires the digging up and processing of critical minerals, an industry that China has traditionally led – although the US has accused Beijing of manipulating the global market.

“We will build new sources of supply, foster secure and reliable transport and logistics networks, and transform the global market into one that is secure, diversified, and resilient, end-to-end,” the State Department said in a statement at the end of the Critical Minerals Ministerial.

That included, among other things, signing new trade agreements, creating stable pricing, and building new supply chains.

The US government also plans to spend tens of billions of dollars investing in private sector projects across America and in the countries of its allies, and creating a multi-billion-dollar stockpile inside the US.

Following the meeting, the White House announced it had signed critical mineral agreements with 11 nations, building on 10 already signed over the past five months, and had negotiations during the summit with another 17 countries – including New Zealand.

A statement released by the US State Department earlier this week read: “[The USA and New Zealand are] committed to explore further opportunities to expand cooperation on critical minerals, energy, critical and emerging technologies, and the digital economy to ensure economic resilience and mutual prosperity.”

While the New Zealand coalition Government is publicly supportive of the idea of growing the critical minerals sector and has already confirmed that a ‘US-New Zealand Critical Minerals Framework’ is being worked on, it hasn’t released any detail as to what an agreement with the United States might include.

US Under Secretary for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg, who is leading much of the work in Washington DC, told 1News the country was "having conversations with New Zealand".

The conversations were ongoing, he said, and spanned "everything from mineral extraction to midstream processing" – the process by which raw materials were treated, stored, and transported before being refined.

"They’re still very much in progress, and we’re currently in the process of evaluating what the most economical and promising projects are in New Zealand."

He didn’t specify which projects were being looked at by the American side.

“But as you know,” he continued, “a big part of [this] really depends on the kinds of minerals, the ease of extraction, the purity levels. So, there’s a number of different considerations that go into play, and so we’re currently evaluating those very closely.”

Resources Minister Shane Jones told 1News while he was unable to reveal which projects the US was interested in, the Government was committed to growing the sector.

"We've been engaged along with a host of other nations – including the EU – with the US. We do have critical minerals in our country. We most certainly need to develop that sector of our economy. We have vanadium in inordinate quantities off the coast of Taranaki... we also have mineral sands."

Some of this us wrapped up in legal action, but Jones said he was “not surprised” that US investors or the government were interested in them.

"We need to seize every opportunity going, and obviously the discussions are progressing, and our Cabinet has yet to make a final call."

Jones said there would be three important areas of consideration, including "structuring an appropriate relationship country to country"; fiscal expectations; and ensuring there was "an accord or engagement strategy between foreign affairs and the iwi Māori".

"Cabinet will determine what should be the shape and form of this engagement with the United States, and we’ll also discuss to what extent there should be further consultation with key stakeholders here in New Zealand.

"But we cannot afford to be left on the side of the road. We have critical minerals in our country. We have neglected the mineral sector, largely sheltered down by various Luddites who don’t believe that New Zealand has a mineral sector. [The Government] regards the minerals sector as a legitimate part of the New Zealand economy."

But the development of this industry – and the interest of Donald Trump’s government – has alarmed some in New Zealand.

In a statement, Greenpeace Aotearoa said it was concerned about "unchecked environmental destruction, Te Tiriti violations, and Aotearoa becoming a pawn in the US’s quest for further geopolitical control".

"The Trump administration is showing absolute disregard for everything other than their own agenda and greed. Pacific peoples and over 40 nations have rejected the idea of mining the ocean, but here’s the US issuing ultimatums trying to force the start of this industry,” executive director Russel Norman said.

"Clearly, the will of Indigenous peoples and Pacific nations do not matter in the Trump administration’s resource and power grab."