The Morrison government has launched a new national roadmap to boost local processing of critical minerals and resources amid looming concerns over Beijing’s stranglehold on global supply chains. The initiative will also address long-running concerns that Australia is not capitalising on its natural advantage in resources, and has for years, simply exported minerals overseas only to repurchase the final product from overseas at higher margins. Prime Minister Scott Morrison launched the 10-year Resources Technology and Critical Minerals Processing Roadmap on Thursday while visiting the coal-rich Hunter Valley region north of Sydney. The initiative opens the door for businesses to apply for grants from the $1.3 billion Modern Manufacturing Initiative to scale up production and commercialise products for global supply chains. “Yesterday’s national accounts showed the comeback of the Australian economy is well underway, and manufacturing businesses and jobs will be central to our national economic recovery plan,” the prime minister …