In a sign of how Australia's industrial policy is evolving in response to global critical minerals demand, the state-owned Perth Mint has emerged as a potential processor of rare earths. This is a significant strategic pivot for an institution historically synonymous with gold. Western Australian Premier Roger Cook has indicated the State Government would support the Mint diversifying its skills base into new areas.
The Mint's scale is rarely appreciated. It processes more than 70% of Australia's newly mined gold and recorded annual turnover of approximately $33 billion in 2024 to 25, making it the state's third largest exporter by dollar value. That operational depth, including secure assay laboratories, metallurgical circuits, and government backing, gives it a meaningful head start over greenfield processors looking to enter the rare earths space.
The broader context is one of mounting strategic urgency. Australia has signed a $13 billion critical minerals agreement with the United States, and the federal government is targeting a Critical Minerals Strategic Reserve operational by late 2026, with initial focus on antimony, gallium, and rare earths.
This story sits within a larger and underappreciated truth about Australia's economic positioning. The RBA has now officially characterised the current environment as a stagflationary nightmare, describing the challenge of navigating higher inflation alongside falling growth as a scenario central bankers dread. Australia's response to stagflation is structurally different from most of the globe. The commodity price shock driving the Iran war's inflationary impulse is simultaneously inflating the value of Australia's export revenues. Resource and energy exports are forecast at approximately $383 billion for the year through June 2026, with iron ore alone generating an estimated $116 billion. Meanwhile, gold has surged approximately 19% since December 2025, with Westpac lifting its end-2026 gold price forecast to US$5,600 per ounce.
Most advanced economies facing stagflation are pure consumers of the energy and fertiliser commodities driving their inflation, they absorb the shock with no structural offset. Australia exports the very commodities causing the shock. That asymmetry supports the national terms of trade, bolsters government revenues, and creates a degree of macroeconomic resilience that investors with commodities exposure would do well to recognise.
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