The collaboration between the Mineral Policy Institute (MPI) and Murdoch University bridges the gap between academic rigour and civil society advocacy. As the global demand for ‘critical minerals’ accelerates to meet renewable energy targets, the pressure on mining-affected communities is intensifying.

The project investigates the governance, social, and environmental complexities of the energy transition. By combining Murdoch University’s research capabilities with MPI’s decades of on-the-ground experience, we aim to ensure that the transition to a low-carbon economy does not come at the cost of local ecosystems or human rights. We are working to define what a truly just transition looks like—one that prioritises equity and sustainability over extraction at any cost.

The MPI-Murdoch collaboration adopts a multi-scalar approach to the energy transition. We move beyond the buzzwords and interrogate the transition from the high-level policy documents down to the material reality of the minerals themselves.

1. Critiquing Strategic Narratives

We pay critical attention to the “formal-strategic” narratives that shape our future.  Governments and corporations are rapidly deploying new frameworks to justify the acceleration of extraction. Our research
interrogates the guiding rationales driving these policies: Are they driven by genuine climate mitigation, geopolitical security, or economic opportunism? We deconstruct the stories being told to reveal who benefits—and who is burdened—by the current
transition roadmap.

2. Technical Specificities & Material Realities

Policy ambitions must eventually confront material realities. We move beyond broad categorisations to examine the unique constraints of specific elements—using cases like gallium for example to highlight the complexities that high-level strategies often miss.

Looking at these specificities, we rigorously trace where the resources actually go. Are they being deployed for genuine renewable energy infrastructure, or absorbed by the military-industrial complex and conventional manufacturing? We also interrogate the necessity of new greenfield extraction by evaluating the alternatives. This includes assessing the viability of technospheric circular mining—recovering materials from existing waste streams rather than the earth—and exploring degrowth
frameworks that prioritise demand reduction over endless supply expansion. Crucially, we analyse how these technical options fit into current geopolitical realities, examining how anxieties over supply chain security and national sovereignty often
override the logical choice to recycle or reduce.

3. Ngala Kwop Biddi: Justice as a Guiding Principle

At the heart of our collaboration is a commitment to the Murdoch University motto, Ngala Kwop Biddi (Noongar for “Building a brighter future together”). We use this not as a slogan, but as a rigorous standard for justice. A “Just Transition” cannot simply be a shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy; it must be a shift from exploitation to equity.

We anchor our research and advocacy in the Mining Policy Principles, a set of “red lines” developed by civil society to safeguard people and planet. We evaluate policies and projects against these non-negotiable standards, specifically:

True Self-Determination: Going beyond consultation to ensure Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is enshrined in law, including the right for First Nations to veto projects on their Country.

Defining ‘No-Go’ Zones: Establishing clear limits on extraction, ensuring that high conservation value areas, cultural heritage sites, and biodiversity hotspots are permanently protected from mining.

Preventing Greenwashing: We rigorously contest attempts to rebrand environmentally destructive practices—such as uranium or deep-sea mining—as necessary for the energy transition.

Prioritising Circularity: We advocate for technospheric mining (mining waste and tailings) and demand reduction as the first priority, ensuring that new extraction is a last resort rather than a default setting.