By Divya Rajagopal
TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada and Australia have agreed to promote shared priorities related to the extraction, processing, and refining of critical minerals, they said in a joint statement on Monday.
The announcement came on the sidelines of the annual Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) conference in Toronto.
Demand for critical minerals used in batteries is projected to expand significantly in coming decades as the world transitions to clean energy. Canada and Australia both have large deposits of the minerals.
They will explore opportunities for R&D collaboration and support bilateral mining and service sector trade and investment through what they said was a non-legally binding understanding.
Canada and Australia will also push for critical minerals supply chain transparency and advocate for strong Environmental, Social and Governance credentials in global supply chains, according to the statement.
Canada's Natural Resources Ministry and Australia's Critical Minerals Office will lead the joint work on critical minerals and coordinate on policies and investments.
(Reporting by Divya Rajagopal in Toronto and Ismail Shakil and Steve Scherer in Ottawa; Editing by Nick Macfie)
