Mining companies vying to develop Australia’s deposits of coveted minerals needed in products as diverse as electric cars, smartphones and military hardware are pressing the Coalition to walk back an election pledge to let fossil-fuel drillers access their industry’s cheap loans facility.

As Opposition Leader Peter Dutton seeks to fight the Albanese government over energy policies and prices, the Coalition last week said it would grant natural gas the same status as a “critical mineral” such as lithium, cobalt and graphite if it wins the election, as part of its plans to fast-track new gas-drilling programs and flood the market with “bucketloads” of the fuel.

Classing gas as a “critical mineral” would qualify gas drillers for support from a $4 billion loans facility set up by the federal government in 2023 to kick-start more mining and processing of metals that the world will need in far greater quantities as building blocks for clean energy products and infrastructure.

“This will ensure gas projects – so critical to our national and international security – are able to access specialised teams within the Department of Resources to support their projects,” opposition resources spokeswoman Susan McDonald said.

However, mining industry leaders have called for the $4 billion facility to be reserved for the critical mineral industry alone. Australia has some of the biggest known reserves of minerals including copper, cobalt, lithium, nickel and rare earths elements. But the industry, which has been battling a prolonged downturn in commodity prices, will need billions of dollars of government investment to grow into a more significant economic driver and one day challenge China’s stranglehold over critical minerals supply.

“We obviously want to see the critical minerals facility used to support critical minerals projects,” said Warren Pearce, chief executive of the Australian Mining and Exploration Association, representing 500 explorers, emerging miners and producers. “I think in that sense the money available will go a lot further with critical minerals projects than it would with giant gas projects.”

Arafura Rare Earths managing director Darryl Cuzzubbo said the facility was “particularly vital” for fledgling industries such as rare earths mining and processing, where companies faced “additional challenges due to underdeveloped expertise, supply chains and markets”.

Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King accused the Coalition of planning to cut “all government support for critical minerals”, after Dutton also vowed to repeal Labor’s plan to deliver a 10 per cent tax credit to critical minerals companies that developed downstream processing, which he branded “tax breaks for billionaires”.

“This shows yet again how Peter Dutton just does not understand the importance of critical minerals to our economy and security and never has,” King said.

Australia’s latest mineral trade forecasts, released last month, showed the nation remained a major global supplier of lithium, nickel and other critical minerals to the rest of the world.

“This could see Australia’s total critical minerals exports reach $19 billion in 2029-30, making critical minerals the sixth-largest category of resource and energy exports 2030,” the report said.

Renascor Resources, which is developing Australia’s biggest known graphite deposit, said it supported the Albanese government’s $4 billion critical minerals facility.

“It has provided an enormous help to Renascor in its ability to progress its Siviour Graphite Project in South Australia to an advanced stage, and has provided substantial external validation for the project,” managing director David Christensen said.

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