Pictures: May Day rally against ICE outside Orange County Jail
People hold signs during the May Day rally outside the Orange County Jail, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/ Orlando Sentinel) People hold signs during the May Day rally outside the Orange County Jail, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Participants of the May Day rally outside the Orange County Jail line up to walk to the podium, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/ Orlando Sentinel) People hold signs during the May Day rally outside the Orange County Jail, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/ Orlando Sentinel) People hold signs during the May Day rally outside the Orange County Jail, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/ Orlando Sentinel) People hold signs during the May Day rally outside the Orange County Jail, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/ Orlando Sentinel) People hold signs during the May Day rally outside the Orange County Jail, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/ Orlando Sentinel) Bishop William Cavins, pastor of Abiding Presence Faith Community, speaks during the May Day rally outside the Orange County Jail, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Participants of the May Day rally outside the Orange County Jail chant on their way to the podium, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) May Day rally outside the Orange County Jail, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Labor leader and member of the Central Florida Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) Ericka Gómez-Tejada speaks during the May Day rally outside the Orange County Jail, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) People hold signs during the May Day rally outside the Orange County Jail, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) People hold signs during the May Day rally outside the Orange County Jail, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) People hold signs during the May Day rally outside the Orange County Jail, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Participants of the May Day rally outside the Orange County Jail line up to walk to the podium, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) People hold signs during the May Day rally outside the Orange County Jail, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Labor leader and member of the Central Florida Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) Ericka Gómez-Tejada speaks during the May Day rally outside the Orange County Jail, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) People hold signs during the May Day rally outside the Orange County Jail, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) People hold signs during the May Day rally outside the Orange County Jail, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) People hold signs during the May Day rally outside the Orange County Jail, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) People hold signs during the May Day rally outside the Orange County Jail, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Participants of the May Day rally outside the Orange County Jail line up to walk to the podium, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) May Day rally outside the Orange County Jail, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) People hold signs during the May Day rally outside the Orange County Jail, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Sister Ann Kendrick holds a sign while chanting during the May Day rally outside the Orange County Jail, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) People hold signs during the May Day rally outside the Orange County Jail, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Labor leader and member of the Central Florida Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) Ericka Gómez-Tejada speaks during the May Day rally outside the Orange County Jail, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet, Executive Director of the HOPE CommUnity Center, speaks during the May Day rally outside the Orange County Jail, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) People hold signs during the May Day rally outside the Orange County Jail, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) People hold signs during the May Day rally outside the Orange County Jail, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) A passenger pulls out a sign as they drive past the May Day rally outside the Orange County Jail, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) People hold signs during the May Day rally outside the Orange County Jail, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Show Caption1 of 33People hold signs during the May Day rally outside the Orange County Jail, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/ Orlando Sentinel)Expand
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The Australian Government has two lists of minerals that are important for the nation's modern technologies, economies and national security: a critical minerals list containing 31 substances including cobalt and lithium; and a strategic materials list containing aluminium, copper, phosphorus, tin and zinc. The minerals on these lists support Australia's 'transition to net-zero emissions, advanced manufacturing, defence technologies and capabilities, and broader strategic applications', according to its Department of Industry, Science and Resources. Albanese's Government will now be able to carry on with its overarching Future Made in Australia policy – essentially an attempt to enhance the benefits of net-zero and energy transition policies. The creation of the critical reserve is central to that, along with a A$750m commitment to develop new low-emissions technology, and A$1bn to boost green iron manufacturing and supply chains. A statement from Andrew Forrest, executive chairman and founder, Fortescue, claims the return of Albanese 'sends a clear and unequivocal message: Australians will back and support policies that recognise the economic opportunities which come from acting on the existential threat of climate change'. Forrest continues that the government's commitments, 'including the Future Made in Australia plan, the Capacity Investment Scheme, the Hydrogen Production Tax Incentive and the Green Iron Fund, provide a strong foundation for a green energy future'. Australia is likely trying to position itself as a green iron manufacturing powerhouse, with the A$1bn fund boosting green iron manufacturing and supply and helping to unlock substantial levels of private investment. 'Green iron can be the biggest industry Australia has ever built,' adds Forrest, so 'let's start in the Pilbara this decade, with investment, markets and skills'. Pilbara is home to Fortescue's Green Metal Project, which is expected to produce more than 1,500 tonnes per annum of green metal, with first production anticipated in 2025, according to the company's website. The plant will use green hydrogen in a reduction furnace to convert iron ore into sponge iron, revealed the company. Soroush Basirat, energy finance analyst, global steel at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, was also hopeful Albanese would help the growth of Australia's high-grade magnetite mining sector, as a key feedstock for green iron production. 'The industry remains focused on hematite mining due to its higher profit margins, but this approach limits flexibility,' Basirat told Mining Technology. 'A transition to magnetite mining – better suited for producing high-grade ore – has yet to gain traction. 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To remain competitive in the evolving global iron ore market, Australia must also act swiftly to diversify beyond hematite and invest in the future of high-grade, low-emissions iron production. 'Without action, Australia risks losing its competitive edge. Emerging competitors such as the Simandou [iron ore] mine in [Guinea], Africa, are set to enter the market and could claim a significant share by the end of the decade, challenging Australia's dominance, which has been largely built on lower-grade ores,' Basirat adds. There is an 'urgent need' to shift toward producing high-grade iron ore that is suitable for the direct reduced iron pathway, says Basirat, noting that this process is 'critical as steelmakers transition to more environmentally friendly technologies such as electric arc furnaces to replace the traditional, coal-based blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace method'. Australia's minerals sector is central to the nation's prosperity, says an early May statement from the Mineral Council of Australia (MCA), 'supporting over 1.2 million jobs, contributing more than A$455bn in export earnings last year, and playing a vital role in the global energy transition through the supply of critical minerals'. Tania Constable, CEO, MCA, added that she hopes the new government 'will place investment at the heart of its economic growth strategy [with a] strong focus on skills, training and workforce, ensuring that Australia has the capability and talent it needs to meet growing demand for critical minerals and resources'. Some key aspects of the policy are tax incentives for processing of critical minerals and production of hydrogen, as well as resources to assess the dangers of foreign investment in critical infrastructure, critical minerals and critical technology. The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies' CEO, Warren Pearce, welcomed the re-election, and publicly stated that his organisation is 'ready and willing to work constructively with the returned Albanese government to deliver the minerals and metals critical to Australia's prosperity and the global energy transition'. Pearce added that it is now time 'for action on key policy initiatives that will support long-term investment and drive Australia's international competitiveness, especially in critical minerals'. 'The exploration sector is struggling,' said Pearce, 'with investment extremely hard to come by, and this crucial cog in the wheel of mining industry needs clarity around the continuation of Junior Minerals Exploration Incentive (JMEI)'. The JMEI encourages investment in small minerals exploration companies that carry out greenfields mineral exploration in Australia, allowing eligible companies to generate tax credits by choosing to give up a portion of their losses from greenfields mineral exploration expenditure. Initially introduced in 2017, JMEI is currently funded until the end of June 2025. Rebecca Tomkinson, CEO, Chamber of Minerals and Energy Western Australia, sees the re-election of Albanese as a chance to streamline environmental regulations, with reform of 'environmental law long overdue, but any change must [offer] improving outcomes for both the environment and for business'. "As Albanese returns, what next for Australia's mining and minerals? " was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
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