Company taxes and royalties paid by Australia’s minerals sector increased by $8 billion in 2018-19 to a record $39.3 billion.

Auto companies have outlined plans to spend more than $140 billion on electric vehicle production.

The Ecuador-focused copper and gold miner will use the funding to speed up a feasibility study of its Alpala project.

The World Bank estimates that over 3 billion tonnes of minerals and metals will be needed to meet the growing demand for clean energy technologies.

Resources Monitor says Australia is bound to overtake China in 2021 as the world’s largest gold producer.