Australian Strategic Materials (ASM) Managing Director and CEO Rowena Smith joined industry leaders at the 2025 AFR Mining Summit in Perth to discuss the future of Australia’s rare earths industry and the path toward greater downstream capability and security.
Participating in a panel titled “Rare earth metals: how far down the magnet chain can Australia go?”, Rowena spoke alongside Luca Giacovazzi (Wyloo), Rebecca Tomkinson (CME WA), and AFR’s James Thomson, with the conversation covering market manipulation, policy intervention, and the role of vertically integrated strategies like ASM’s in securing global supply chains.
With rare earths again in the geopolitical spotlight following China’s latest export restrictions, Rowena noted that ASM has seen increasing inbound interest from partners and customers seeking non-China supply – particularly for heavy rare earth metals.
“Volatility creates risk, but it also creates opportunity. The key for Australia – and for companies like ASM – is to remain focused on building the capability that partners, governments and manufacturers are actively seeking.”
Rowena Smith
The discussion also covered the Albanese Government’s proposed Critical Minerals Strategic Reserve, which would allow the government to enter into offtake arrangements and, in some cases, stockpile critical minerals to support strategic industries.
Rowena welcomed the intent behind the proposal, noting that the Reserve could be a valuable tool to mitigate market manipulation and support projects that underpin sovereign capability and allied supply chains.
“A well-designed Reserve, developed with constructive industry engagement, could be a catalyst for global investment – complementing the market, not replacing it. Long-term offtake certainty could provide smaller projects with legitimacy when dealing with major customers in industries like defence.”
She emphasised that transparent, fair pricing is vital to attracting long-term investment: “Australia’s rare earths don’t need artificial pricing. They just need fair pricing and stable pricing to have a fighting chance,” she said.