Tivan Ramps Up Australian Critical Minerals Push With Japanese Partners as Canberra and Tokyo Move to Diversify Supply Chains from China

Australian miner Tivan is ramping up efforts to develop a suite of critical minerals in Australia, working with Japanese corporate and government partners as Canberra and Tokyo intensify cooperation aimed at diversifying supply chains away from China.

The company is advancing exploration and development plans for minerals including fluorite and tungsten, both considered strategically important for manufacturing and high-tech applications. A central part of the push involves collaboration with Japan’s major trading house Sumitomo, which is among the participants backing Tivan’s search for fluorite deposits in Western Australia, according to information released by the miner.

The partnerships reflect a broader policy drive by Australia and Japan to secure access to key raw materials amid growing concerns about concentrated global supply. China plays an outsized role in the production and processing of many critical minerals, and both countries have been seeking alternative sources and new projects that can be brought online to strengthen resilience.

Tivan’s work in Western Australia is focused on locating and assessing fluorite resources. Fluorite is used in a range of industrial processes, including the manufacture of chemicals and in metallurgical applications. Tungsten, another target mentioned in the company’s critical-minerals development program, is valued for its hardness and high melting point and is used in industrial tooling and other advanced manufacturing uses.

By pairing an Australian resource developer with Japanese industrial capacity and trading networks—along with support from public-sector agencies—the initiative is designed to accelerate the identification and eventual commercialization of deposits that could feed into Japan’s supply needs while supporting Australia’s ambitions to expand its critical-minerals sector.

The emerging cooperation underscores how resource security has become a major theme in regional economic strategy. Japan, which depends heavily on imports for many raw materials, has been expanding relationships with resource-rich partners to ensure stable long-term supply. Australia, for its part, has been positioning itself as a reliable supplier of minerals essential to modern industry, while also seeking to move beyond traditional bulk commodities.

Why it matters

Fluorite and tungsten sit at the base of supply chains for manufacturing and advanced industrial products, and disruptions can ripple across multiple sectors. Projects like Tivan’s could help Japan reduce exposure to concentrated supply and give Australia new avenues for investment and industrial development. The next test will be whether exploration results translate into commercially viable production—and how quickly partners can build the infrastructure and processing capacity needed to compete globally.