Critical Minerals Association Goes International with CMA Australia!

The Critical Minerals Association (CMA) is delighted to announce that we have expanded overseas with the formation of CMA Australia, a chapter of the Critical Minerals Association that will focus on uniting and amplifying the voice of Australia’s critical minerals industry.

“The success of CMA UK has been inspiring. The cooperation of our members to drive impactful policy positions and deliver these to the UK and foreign governments is unrivalled.

However, the scale of the green economy challenge, the threat of climate change, and the growing gulf in critical minerals geopolitics collectively mean that success can only be achieved at a global scale through cooperation.

We have launched CMA Australia as an independent, critical minerals domestic association to deliver for Australian and Australian-focused companies.

CMA Australia will be a part of the global CMA network allowing Australian companies to collaborate with their counterparts in the UK, Canada and soon the USA as well as future partner nations.

Australia is one of the leading critical minerals nations and we are honoured to be able to facilitate an industry a voice to ensure it is the driver of the green revolution.”

– Jeff Townsend, Founder, Critical Minerals Association

CMA Australia will focus on tackling domestic and international challenges to help its members build a profitable, sustainable, and globally recognised critical minerals industry.

CMA Australia will aim to:

§ Create credible unified advocacy with governments specifically for critical minerals

§ Catalyse Australian processing and refining

§ Connect industry and transform understanding through networking opportunities

§ Drive thought leadership on ESG best practices

§ Help to remove barriers to accessing funding for responsible critical minerals

International Reach

While supply chains are global, market monopolisation, increasing supply-demand deficit projections and, the need for responsible sourcing all cut across many governments, jurisdictions, and industries.

International partnerships are key to unlocking business opportunities and removing barriers faced by companies operating across the international critical minerals value chain. CMA Australia will collaborate closely with CMA UK, and later in the year, CMA US, to bring explorers, miners, processors, refiners, consultants, and financiers together with international governments. The chapters will also collaborate with our partner association the Canadian Critical Minerals & Materials Alliance (C2M2A).

CMA Australia will leverage its international reach to promote Australian companies operating in the critical minerals value chain on the global stage.

“It’s an exciting time to launch CMA Australia and strengthen UK-Australia relationships both on the business and government fronts.

We already have the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement and, the joint working group on critical minerals. The CMA UK was honoured to host roundtables between the UK and Australian governments and industry earlier this year.

So now is the perfect time to give Australia’s critical mineral industry a separate, unified voice to influence the State and Federal governments. Critical minerals are the building blocks of the future, and we need to see pragmatic action taken by governments to enable, modern, responsible supply chains.”

- Olimpia Pilch, International Partnerships & Business Manager

Head over to the CMA Australia website to find out more.

Team

NAMALI MACKAY

Managing Director

Most recently Namali led the critical minerals agenda for the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) in London where she worked with the UK and Australian critical minerals stakeholders, on behalf of the Australian Government. Following Brexit, Namali was the Trade Advisor to Make UK (the UK’s largest manufacturing industry body) where she worked with UK manufacturers on supply chain and trade strategies for Brexit- readiness. Namali is a former Australian diplomat and trade negotiator, covering the trade, industry, resource and climate portfolios during her posting at the Australian High Commission in London. After. her posting, Namali was appointed Group Head of International Relations at Prudential in London where she managed the Group's trade and international agenda across the ASEAN region. Namali has returned to Australia and is the inaugural Managing Director of the Critical Minerals Association Australia.

JEFF TOWNSEND

Founder & Director

Jeff is the Co-Founder of the UK Critical Minerals Association which has built a strong presence in the UK. Jeff was instrumental in creating the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on Critical Minerals and has advocated for the industry on the UK Critical Minerals Strategy. Jeff has extended the international reach of the CMA to Australia, Canada and the US and has strong links with the Australian critical minerals sector. Jeff is an experienced public affairs and campaign strategist having been a Director at Aspect Consulting and an International Affairs Advisor and Chief of Staff to members of the UK parliament.

OLIMPIA PILCH

International Relations & Business Manager

Olimpia is a geologist by training having completed her BSc Geology (Hons) at Durham University and MSc Exploration Geology at Camborne School of Mines. Having spent time in the field, she has a strong understanding of the upstream critical minerals sector and the challenges faced by critical mineral operators. She actively drives thought leadership on supply chains, geopolitics, and ESG, and connects international companies with governments to propel responsible business. She has co-authored the CMA UK's flagship ESG reports, 'A Blueprint for Responsible Sourcing of Critical Minerals' and, ‘Breaking Down Barriers for Responsible Sourcing of Critical Minerals’, and advises industry on sustainable supply chains.