- Media Release
Australian minerals in the box seat to meet India’s ambitious goals
Today’s signing of agreements between Australia and India to supply more of our critical minerals and uranium sends a clear and strong message that Australian minerals have great strategic importance for our trading partners.
Increasing exports of Australian critical minerals and uranium, building on our already strong sales of metallurgical and thermal coal to India, is not only good for Australian jobs, economic resilience and regional communities.
It also strengthens the long-standing trade and strategic relationships between India and Australia while creating more robust and reliable supply chains.
Australia is a reliable supplier of the high-quality minerals required by the world for energy, defence, growth and prosperity.
In particular, the supply of Australian uranium to India represents an immense opportunity.
India’s plan to expand its nuclear fleet – including a highly ambitious target to increase zero-emissions nuclear generation from 8 gigawatts (GW) to 100GW by 2047 – will require a large and reliable supply of uranium.
The MCA estimates that based on 1 GW of nuclear power generation requiring about 225 tonnes of uranium per year, and Australia’s forecast export volume of 6,471 tonnes in 2025-26, if India reaches its 100 GW nuclear target by 2047 its nuclear power fleet could require around 23,000 tonnes of uranium each year.
Even if only half that target is achieved, annual uranium requirements would be roughly 11,000 tonnes, almost double Australia’s current uranium export volumes.
With almost 30% of global uranium resources, Australia is perfectly positioned to meet this challenge if we can lift our output above our current ranking of fourth place in global production.
The opportunity to supply a potentially immense Indian nuclear generation program with Australian uranium exported under strict safeguards will add further impetus to overturn outdated and ideologically driven bans on uranium mining.
This includes state mining bans in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia and archaic federal laws which are not based on sound science.
Australia should be given every opportunity to grow its already strong minerals trade with India in coal and gold by backing our uranium miners to help deliver reliable, zero emissions energy.