\u201cWe actually don\u2019t have anything and so we\u2019d have to make serious investments and that will require capital from domestic purposes and overseas purposes to do that. As to the construct of any deal, we\u2019re not anywhere near that.\u201d <\/p>\n
The US Department of States\u2019 Under-Secretary for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg over the weekend said conversations with NZ \u201cspan everything from mineral extraction to midstream processing\u201d. <\/p>\n
Asked by the Herald what role the US could have with mineral extraction in NZ, Luxon said \u201cWe\u2019re going to need support to actually undertake and kick off a sector\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to require extraction. It\u2019s gonna require capital investment to do that. But exactly as to how that\u2019s configured, those are conversations that are ahead of us.\u201d <\/p>\n
And could Donald Trump\u2019s administration provide NZ with that capital investment for extraction? <\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I\u2019m not saying that. I don\u2019t want to present it as a fait accompli.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon stressed no deal has been made. Photo \/ Mark Mitchell<\/p>\n
Luxon said there were various ways to \u201cunlock the sector here\u201d and it would be developed \u201cin our own brutal national interests\u201d. <\/p>\n
He said, \u201cwe do not have a deal on the table with all of that detail in it\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe have officials talking about it, understanding it, exploring what the Americans are looking for, how we could or could not help in that regard. We have a long way to go, a wee way to go. No Cabinet decisions have been made about this at all.\u201d <\/p>\n
The Prime Minister said NZ needs a critical mineral sector \u201cbecause the future of the world is all about semiconductors and AI\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s also going to be about the clean transition to clean energy and a clean economy and that\u2019s going to require EVs and solar panels. All of those source materials come from critical minerals and that requires mining here in NZ.\u201d<\/p>\n
How we got here: <\/p>\n
2025: Demand for rare earth minerals continued to grow globally last year due to their importance to emerging technologies, like artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, and defence and security technologies. <\/p>\n
The Government last January released a critical minerals list<\/a>, highlighting 37 minerals deemed to be \u201cessential to NZ\u2019s economy and technological needs\u201d. These range from aluminum to cobalt, from nickel to zinc. <\/p>\n \u201cThe list provides a basis for strategic actions to support secure mineral supply chains here and overseas, strengthen our relationships with international partners, and help ensure we achieve the Minerals Strategy for NZ to 2040 goal of doubling minerals exports to $3 billion by 2035.\u201d <\/p>\n China\u2019s dominance in this space is stark. According to the International Energy Agency, China is the leading refiner for 19 out of 20 important strategic minerals<\/a>, with a reported market share of 70%. <\/p>\n This has geopolitical consequences, particularly for the US, which doesn\u2019t want to be reliant on China for the technology of the future. Beijing tried to take advantage of its position by placing export controls on some elements and related technologies. <\/p>\n This angered Trump, who threatened to impose additional tariffs on China. But after a meeting between the US President and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea l<\/a>ast October, China agreed to pull back. <\/p>\n To counter China\u2019s dominance, the US began forming partnerships with other countries, like Australia, to lock down supply chains. It also developed other initiatives, like Pax Silica, to deepen countries\u2019 co-operation. <\/p>\n In November, the Government announced NZ was joining the Minerals Security Partnership, a transnational grouping which Resource Minister Shane Jones said \u201cputs NZ alongside the world\u2019s largest economies and will help to attract funding to realise the potential of our minerals sector\u201d. <\/p>\n January 14: Trump issued a formal proclamation after reviewing a report from his Secretary of Commerce about the effect of imports of processed critical minerals and their derivative products (PCMDPs) on national security. <\/p>\n It said the US is \u201ctoo reliant on foreign sources of PCMDPs\u201d and \u201clacks access to a sufficiently secure and reliable supply chain to PCMDPs\u201d. This was called a \u201csignificant national security vulnerability\u201d. <\/p>\n Trump directed his team \u201cto enter into negotiations with trading partners to adjust the imports of PCMDPs so that such imports will not threaten to impair the national security of the US\u201d. <\/p>\n The US President also highlighted that his Commerce Secretary believed it could be \u201cappropriate to impose import restrictions, such as tariffs, if satisfactory agreements are not reached in a timely manner\u201d. <\/p>\n January 19: Emeritus Professor of Law Jane Kelsey penned an article directing attention to Trump\u2019s proclamation. <\/p>\n She questioned if NZ had been approached by the US and said if so, there should be a \u201cfull discussion about the implications\u201d. <\/p>\n January 27: A group of claimants filed a memorandum at the Waitangi Tribunal raising concerns an agreement could \u201cbe finalised and signed without M\u0101ori, or anyone else in Aotearoa, being aware\u201d and may \u201dbreach the principles of rangatiratanga and k\u0101wanatanga\u201c. <\/p>\n January 30: The Herald heard conversations were underway between NZ and the US and that an announcement was being worked towards. <\/p>\n The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed discussions were happening, saying: \u201cNZ is in discussions with the US regarding a non-binding critical minerals framework. Officials are going through a process of analysis, targeted consultation and providing advice to relevant ministers.\u201d <\/p>\n The Herald and other media outlets published stories on work on the potential framework<\/a> on the Friday afternoon. It is the front-page of that Saturday\u2019s Weekend Herald. <\/p>\n February 2: The Prime Minister is asked about the NZ-US discussions by Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB during his Monday morning media round. <\/p>\n Luxon said reporting had been \u201cvery speculative and ahead of itself\u201d and \u201cwe haven\u2019t made a Cabinet decision or had a fulsome discussion about it all\u201d. <\/p>\n \u201cBut do we want to develop a critical minerals sector in NZ? Absolutely. Why? Because AI and superconductors are the future of the world and we should not be na\u00efve to that and we should be understanding what resources we have here at home. <\/p>\n \u201cBut how we develop it, we\u2019ll do it on our own brutal national interests. So we have conversations with the Americans, but nothing\u2019s been agreed.\u201d <\/p>\n On RNZ that morning, he was asked if NZ was doing a behind-closed-doors deal with the US. <\/p>\n \u201cNo, no,\u201d Luxon said. <\/p>\n \u201cThe US has obviously been reaching out to over 40 countries on critical minerals. I saw some of the reporting over the weekend, I think it\u2019s quite hypothetical and we have made no Cabinet decision yet. I think the commentary frankly is probably a bit frothy and a bit ahead of itself.\u201d <\/p>\n Luxon eventually said, \u201cwe are part of conversations with lots of countries on issues like this\u201d. <\/p>\n The Herald that afternoon reported that Bede Corry<\/a>, Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade, would lead a delegation to the Critical Minerals Ministerial in Washington, DC that week. <\/p>\n It also reported the Chinese Embassy in NZ<\/a> had \u201cnoted the relevant reports and are currently gathering futher (sic) information\u201d. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) also told the Herald of its involvement.<\/p>\n February 3: Corry and US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau released a statement after meeting in Washington DC <\/a>saying they \u201ccommitted to explore further opportunities to expand co-operation on critical minerals\u201d.<\/p>\n February 4: David Seymour, the Deputy Prime Minister, is asked on Ryan Bridge TODAY about critical minerals<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve not seen the framework. I\u2019ve seen a summary of it as we\u2019ve discussed it through Cabinet … I don\u2019t talk about what\u2019s done in Cabinet, except for that minor slip-up.\u201d <\/p>\nChina is dominant in the critical minerals space. Photo \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
Christopher Luxon was asked about the potential framework throughout last week. Photo \/ Alyse Wright <\/p>\n
Bede Corry is the Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade and chief executive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.<\/p>\n