"France is more and more keen." Four words from Madeleine King, Australian Minister for Resources, reported this morning by Reuters from the Minerals Week summit in Canberra. Four words that will not surprise anyone who is closely following the issue.
France is not new to this. Madeleine King and Agnès Pannier-Runacher signed a Bilateral Dialogue on Critical Minerals in Paris. Bpifrance Assurance Export is in the loop. In October 2024, Business France and OFREMI organised a French Mining and Critical Minerals Tour passing through Sydney, Perth, and the Pilbara, with meetings at BHP, Rio Tinto, and Fortescue. The foundations are laid.
What is changing today is the pace.
Three signals in one week
On Monday, the European Union and Australia signed a free trade agreement after eight years of negotiations. Tariffs on Australian critical minerals (lithium, manganese, rare earths) are eliminated. Ursula von der Leyen, before the Australian Parliament: "We cannot be over-dependent on any supplier for such crucial ingredients, and that is precisely why we need each other."
Australia has joined the G7 Critical Minerals Production Alliance. And the Australian strategic reserve of 1.2 billion Australian dollars, focused on antimony, gallium, and rare earths, will be operational by the end of the year.
On the other hand, the United States has already committed $8.5 billion to concrete projects through the agreement signed in October with Canberra. Japan has been funding for years. France, on the other hand, remains at the stage of cooperation frameworks. The political will is there. Large-scale funding, not yet.
This is precisely where the next step is taking place.
Perth, the capital of critical minerals
One must understand one thing: the heart of the action is not in Canberra. It is in Perth.
Western Australia concentrates the most advanced projects in the country. Lynas operates the Mount Weld mine, the richest rare earth deposit in the world outside of China, and has just installed a cracking plant in Kalgoorlie. Iluka is building Australia's first integrated rare earth refinery in Eneabba, supported by a government loan of AUD 1.65 billion. Hastings is progressing on the Yangibana project. The Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia funds research on rare earth extraction from clays.
In May, Perth will host the Critical Minerals Australia Conference. In April, the Battery Minerals Conference. The ecosystem is there: ASX-listed juniors, mining services companies (the METS), research institutes, government agencies like Austrade and the NAIF.
For a French company looking to position itself, Perth is where you need to be. Not in a Paris office reading reports.
The missing link
Madeleine King's observation is clear: many countries "are simply not used to mining finance, but they will have to get used to it if they want to secure their supply." China took forty years to build its dominance in rare earths. Australia wants to move faster, but acknowledges that it will be a multi-decade effort.
French companies looking at Australia have real skills: engineering, services, equipment, project financing. What they often lack is the connection to the ground: understanding Australian codes, identifying the right contacts in Perth, knowing how a junior mining company listed on the ASX operates, navigating a demanding regulatory environment, and working in sometimes very remote areas of WA or the Northern Territory.
This is the connection we are building at Confluence Pacific. Based in Perth, at the heart of the Australian mining ecosystem, we help European companies connect with local players: targeted introductions, support at industry conferences, deciphering opportunities, and connecting with on-the-ground players, whether they are explorers, project developers, service companies, or investment agencies.
We are not a mining consultancy. We are the bridge between two worlds that need each other but do not always speak the same language. (And I am not just talking about French and English.)
The window is open. In Australia, when we say "keen", it means we are ready to go. The question remains who, on the French side, will take the first concrete step.