Expertise Archives:
New Hope Group
Establishment of the Minerals Security Partnership Finance Network
Good news for Australia’s critical minerals industry as Australia partners with other nations to establish Minerals Security Partnership Finance Network This week, Australia, the United States, Japan, Canada and 11 other nations announced the establishment of the Minerals Security Partnership Finance Network (Network),a joint financing body designed to fund critical minerals projects across the globe. …
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Diatreme Resources Limited
Charlotte Aumuller
Is this the end of statutory liability insurance?
Directors and officers (D&O) have a wide range of statutory and common law duties and responsibilities. Failing to discharge those duties may expose a director or officer to legal action and personal liability from a number of sources. Businesses and their senior management maintain insurance cover under D&O Liability and Statutory Liability policies to deal …
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Overhauling health and safety regulations in Queensland’s resources sector
Amendments to Resources Safety Acts slated for 2024 Comprehensive regulatory reforms are proposed for Queensland’s resources sector through the introduction of the Resources Safety and Health Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 (Qld) (Bill). The Bill seeks to amend Queensland’s Resources Safety Acts (as well as their associated Regulations), made up of: The 242 page Bill was …
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Decarbonising objectives are driving reforms
Against the backdrop of a decarbonising global economy, Australia has seen significant developments across its carbon policies and plans in the last twelve months, particularly following COP28. Australia’s desire to dramatically reduce its carbon emissions by the end of this decade will, however, require more significant and broadscale efforts to achieve the target of net-zero …
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Taking ‘stock’: legality of State mining royalties following Vanderstock
Late last year, by narrow majority, the High Court of Australia ruled in Vanderstock v State of Victoria [2023] HCA 30 (Vanderstock) that the Victorian Zero and Low Emission Vehicle Distance-Based Charge Act 2021 (Vic) (ZLEV Act) was unconstitutional and invalid, given the annual charge imposed by the Victorian Government was a ‘duty of excise’ …
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‘Funding’ the way: navigating the investment maze
Despite some fundamental similarities, financing of Australian energy and resources projects looks very different depending on whether the project is a renewables or resources project. The resources industry continues to finance and fund in unconventional ways from within, while the renewable energy sector continues to seek conventional debt financing to fund their projects. As funding …
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A spotlight on convertible notes in the Australian energy and resources sector
Key takeaways Australian economic environment A noticeable market trend over recent years, particularly in 2023, is the increased use of convertible notes by listed and larger established Australian resources and renewables companies. This fundraising instrument has traditionally been associated with early-stage venture capitalists and start ups in their seed financing stages. However, the utility of …
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FIRB’s evolving role in balancing national security and foreign investment in Australia’s critical minerals sector
As described in our Critical Minerals market update, the Critical Mineral Strategy 2023-2030 (Strategy) proposes to take a concerted, targeted, and proportionate approach to developing Australia’s critical minerals sector, setting out six focus areas. One focus area being to work with likeminded international partners to attract and leverage foreign investment and diversify supply chains. The …
Market update: resources
After early predictions of a sharp decline in resource and energy commodity prices heading into 2024, measures introduced by the Chinese Government to stabilise the nation’s residential property sector, and the global focus on emissions reduction, have resulted in an elevated demand for a variety of commodities, stabilising the price fall. Despite this, the record …
Market update: critical minerals
In June 2023, the Federal Government published the Critical Minerals Strategy 2023–2030, setting out the government’s vision to grow Australia’s critical minerals sector. Australia’s Critical Minerals Strategy Key objectives of this Strategy include: The Strategy includes six key focus areas: By 2030, the Strategy aims to have grown the geostrategic and economic benefits of its …
Madeline Simpson
Malabar Resources Limited
Emily Collins
New offences and proactive approaches – what to expect from the new Environmental Protection Bill
On 13 February 2024, the Environmental Protection (Powers and Penalties) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 (Powers and Penalties Bill) was introduced to further enhance the powers and penalties provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1994 (Qld) following on from the Jones review. In previous articles, we have discussed the Jones Review and its impact …
Elizabeth Ryan
Bowdens Silver
Rob Dickfos
Safeguard Mechanism Reforms: what you need to know in the race to net-zero
Against the backdrop of a decarbonising global economy and as part of Australia’s commitment to the Paris Agreement (now enshrined in Commonwealth legislation), the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (Safeguard Mechanism) Amendment (Reforms) Rules 2023,[1] are set to come into force on 1 July 2023. These reforms have been designed by the Federal Government to …
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Market update: resources
In 2023, both the Australian Federal and State Governments are expected to continue to increase their efforts to secure domestic supplies of coal and gas, as they attempt to address projected supply shortages, creating, as some stakeholders say, a type of ‘resource nationalism.’ For those stakeholders, operating in the Australian resources market in 2022 was …
Market update: renewable energy
The Australian energy sector has evolved considerably in the last 12 months. Following the Federal election, we saw Prime Minister Anthony Albanese acknowledge Australia’s significant potential to become a renewable energy superpower and enact a series of energy policies aimed at driving the country forward to 2030 and beyond. After a period marred by a divided, …
Market update: critical minerals
2023 outlook The surge in demand for critical minerals is expected to continue in 2023 and beyond, as battery and automotive sectors source these minerals to facilitate global decarbonisation targets. The investment in clean energy technologies – and in turn, the demand for the minerals which make up those technologies – is expected to quadruple …
Panic at the pump: shortfalls in Australia’s gas supply and intervention measures
2023 outlook Predictions in 2022 of a gas shortage in Australia’s east coast energy market have extended into 2023, with continued concerns for the stability of the country’s energy supply. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) most recent gas inquiry report (released on 27 January 2023) forecasted a 30 petajoule (PJ) shortfall in the Australian east …
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The future of foreign investment: the role of the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act
Foreign investment in the Australian energy and resources sectors has long been subject to a national interest and national security test. These tests ensure that investment by foreign entities remains overall beneficial, in light of issues concerning Australia’s sovereignty. Recently, a significant increase in global cyber attacks from nation-states, state-sponsored actors and transnational cybercrime syndicates …
M&A trends in resources and renewables
The Australian M&A market resurged in 2021 with record-breaking deal activity as investors turned their backs on pandemic-induced economic uncertainty. With significant amounts of deployable capital preserved as a result of cost-saving initiatives during the height of COVID-19, this trend continued strongly through the first half of 2022, but trailed off in Q3 as a …
Money talks – reporting convergence across project finance and capital raising
Last year we highlighted the impact that ESG initiatives are having on financing Australia’s significant resource and renewable industry. 12 months down the track, and access to capital to fund the next wave of projects and investment continues to be one of the major challenges for Australian project operators, however the new era of reporting frameworks …
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McR ESG: spotlight on green commodities – more than unlocking customer premium
Interest in the supply of ‘green products’ has never been higher. Both from producers looking to offer a differentiated product and possibly unlock premium pricing but also from customers under pressure to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability by procuring carbon neutral or lower emissions products. The commodities market has been experiencing these shifts for some time …
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