The centre will be a catalyst to aid focus on the development of the green economy in Australia, in relation to export commodities and the significant potential for low carbon regional development and job creation.

The company and Piedmont Lithium made a joint bid for North American Lithium earlier this year as part of a plan to expand in North America.

The nickel miner has taken 49% in a joint venture that gives it 25% in the Greenbushes lithium mine and 49% in the Kwinana processing plant in Western Australia.

The website contains the world’s largest dataset of minerals such cobalt, lithium and rare earth elements.

Imported iron ore stocked at Chinese ports dropped for a fourth straight week to 123.95 million tonnes, as of Friday, hitting the lowest level since early October.

The company secured a $151.68 million loan to develop its flagship Dubbo rare earths project in New South Wales.

The rally in commodity prices is likely to see a shift from metals to energy resources, such as crude oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and coal.