U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent meets Australian Treasurer Chalmers to discuss critical minerals supply chains

“Critical minerals” are minerals that are both (1) essential for key technologies, modern economies, or national security and (2) at risk of supply disruption because production or processing is concentrated in a few countries or subject to political, market, or logistical risks.

Each country keeps its own list, but the U.S. 2022 federal list (DOI/USGS) includes 50 minerals such as aluminum, cobalt, lithium, nickel, rare earth elements (like neodymium and dysprosium), graphite, gallium, germanium, manganese, platinum‑group metals, titanium, tungsten, and others. Australia similarly defines critical minerals as those essential to technology, the economy, or security with vulnerable supply chains, and maintains a list of 31 critical commodities including lithium, nickel, cobalt, rare earth elements, graphite, manganese, and others.

Critical minerals are seen as a national security concern because:

• They are used in defense systems and advanced technology (e.g., missiles, jet engines, satellites, secure communications), as well as civilian infrastructure like power grids, semiconductors, and clean‑energy technologies.
• Supply chains for many of these minerals—especially rare earths, graphite, and certain processing stages—are highly concentrated in a small number of countries, which can use export controls or other measures to exert geopolitical pressure or disrupt supplies.
• Any disruption (from conflict, sanctions, natural disasters, or political decisions) could cripple a country’s military readiness, manufacturing base, and energy systems.

U.S. agencies explicitly link critical minerals to economic and national security when issuing the federal critical minerals list and in convening meetings (like Secretary Bessent’s ministerial) to “secure and diversify” these supply chains.

Jim Chalmers is an Australian politician from the Australian Labor Party who has been Treasurer of Australia (the federal government’s chief economic and finance minister) since May 23, 2022. He is also the Member of Parliament for the electorate of Rankin in Queensland, first elected in 2013.

As Treasurer, he is responsible for:

• Delivering the federal Budget and overseeing government revenue and spending.
• Setting and managing economic and fiscal policy (taxation, public spending, debt).
• Overseeing parts of financial‑system policy and working with the independent Reserve Bank of Australia on overall macroeconomic settings.
• Providing economic advice to the government, including on international economic issues like critical minerals and trade.

In this context, an “action‑oriented partnership” means the two governments intend not just to talk about shared goals but to pursue concrete, practical steps together. In practice for U.S.–Australia critical‑minerals cooperation, similar language in their 2023 Climate, Critical Minerals and Clean Energy Transformation Compact has translated into:

• Joint financing and investment support for mining, processing and refining projects (e.g., through export‑credit agencies and public financing vehicles).
• Coordinated industrial and trade policy to build secure, diversified supply chains (for example, facilitating offtake agreements, supporting value‑added processing in Australia, and aligning standards and regulations).
• Collaborative research, development and demonstration projects and data‑sharing on critical‑minerals resources and technologies.

The Bessent–Chalmers readout does not list specific tools, but in this policy area “action‑oriented” usually signals a mix of joint investments, supply‑chain projects, and policy coordination rather than only issuing statements.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s role is to tackle the financial and economic dimensions of securing critical‑minerals supply chains, while other agencies handle geology, mining, and environmental regulation.

Specific Treasury roles typically include:

• Convening finance ministers and economic officials (as Secretary Bessent did in the January 12, 2026 ministerial) to coordinate policies that “secure and diversify” critical‑minerals supply chains.
• Designing or supporting financial tools—such as investments, loans, guarantees, and sanctions or export controls—that influence where and how critical‑minerals projects are financed and processed.
• Working with allies’ finance ministries on macroeconomic, trade, and investment policies that reduce over‑reliance on high‑risk suppliers.

Other U.S. agencies play complementary roles: the Department of the Interior/USGS defines the federal critical‑minerals list and assesses resources, the Department of Energy focuses on technology and energy‑sector uses, and agencies like Commerce and State handle trade and diplomatic aspects.

No. The official readout of Secretary Bessent’s January 12, 2026 meeting with Treasurer Jim Chalmers is very brief and only states that they discussed critical‑minerals opportunities and mutual economic and national security concerns, and that Bessent praised Australia’s commitment to a “strong, action‑oriented partnership” to build secure supply chains. It does not announce any specific new commitments, funding amounts, timelines, or concrete follow‑up steps.