Washington: It’s hard to believe it has already been 15 years since then-prime minister Kevin Rudd lobbed the “mining tax” into the national discourse, only to be savaged by the industry in a no-holds-barred advertising campaign that contributed to his downfall.

But mining is once again the flavour of the month. Australia’s status as one of the world’s premier quarries has become its trump card as the US administration seeks to remove itself and the world from China’s stranglehold over the supply of critical minerals.

Rudd, now US ambassador, bouncing back from his Cabinet Room collision with President Donald Trump, addressed a room full of American senators and House representatives the next morning, where he introduced Australia’s Resources Minister Madeleine King as “captain mining”.

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