Australia’s Ambassador to the European Union, Angus Campbell AO, has described Australia’s Critical Minerals Strategic Reserve as a “shock absorber” for global supply chains, as European governments warned the era of buying critical minerals on price alone is over.

Speaking on an international panel on supply chain resilience at the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) 2026 in Sydney today, the former Chief of the Defence Force said the reserve would initially focus on gallium, antimony and rare earths, which he described as the immediate need. All three have been subject to Chinese export restrictions in recent years.

“It’s not great piles of ore sitting somewhere in the outback,” Ambassador Campbell said. “It’s much more about offtake agreements, forward contracts, demand and supply aggregation.”

He said only about nine percent of Australia’s critical minerals currently flow to Europe, leaving significant untapped potential. “So far, we’ve seen Europe and Australia often working in parallel, in complement, but in parallel,” Ambassador Campbell said. He called for the two to work “in co-production, in cooperation” across around 60 critical minerals, creating a coherent contribution to markets in Europe and globally.

Ambassador Campbell pointed to the Australian Government’s latest Critical Minerals Prospectus, announced at IMARC Sydney this morning. The new edition adds 29 projects, including Victory Metals’ North Stanmore Project near Cue in WA, and reinforces IMARC’s role in bringing real investment opportunities to international investors.

Stefan Rouenhoff, Parliamentary State Secretary at Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, told delegates Europe was confronting “the weaponisation of trade relations”, where supply dependencies are used as leverage over economies. He said the long-standing practice of sourcing at the lowest cost “is over”.

Germany is increasing its raw materials fund by 50 percent to back projects that secure offtake for German industry, and is calling for price floors, price corridors and stockpiles to protect projects when prices are driven down. Mr Rouenhoff cited Arafura’s Nolans rare earths project, announced by Minister for Resources Madeleine King on Monday, as a model for Australia–Germany cooperation.

The panel also featured Alberto Castronovo, Special Envoy on Critical Raw Materials at Italy’s Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy; Michal Nowosielski, Head of Raw Materials Policy and International Affairs at Poland’s Ministry of Climate and Environment; and a representative of France’s Observatory of Mineral Resources for Industrial Sectors. Discussion spanned tungsten refining, battery materials, permanent magnets and joint European stockpiling.

This year’s IMARC has attracted strong attendance from Australia’s critical minerals sector, including Arafura, Barkly Rare Earths, Australian Strategic Materials, Victory Metals, St George Mining, Critica and EQ Resources.

Beacon Events Chief Operating Officer Anita Richards said the discussions demonstrated how critical minerals were reshaping international investment and industrial policy. “What we’re seeing at IMARC is governments moving beyond strategic ambition towards practical measures that can unlock investment and accelerate project development. Bringing policymakers together with mining companies, financiers and investors is essential if these international partnerships are to translate into commercially viable projects,” Ms Richards said.