UK publishes Critical Minerals Strategy 2035

THE UK government has published its long-awaited critical minerals strategy, setting out a ten-year vision for securing production and supporting economic growth in the world’s most vital resources.

Paired with the Industrial Strategy, which was published in July, the Vision 2035 plan for critical minerals focuses on domestic production and security and investing in key mining regions, including Cornwall, the North East and Teesside.

By 2035, the UK wants at least 10% of its annual demand for critical minerals to come from domestic production – including extraction, processing and refining – and aims to ensure that no more than 60% of its total demand is supplied by any single country.

China is the dominant force in rare earths, producing about 70% of the world’s mined supply and around 90% of its refined output. The country is tightening its export controls, most recently invoking the foreign direct product rule (FDPR) for semiconductor magnets. As a result, any foreign producer whose magnets contain even trace amounts of China-sourced rare earth materials must now obtain Chinese government approval before exporting them.

To strengthen domestic supply, the UK will offer financial support to businesses, including a £50m (US$66m) funding package. Support will also be available from the National Wealth Fund (NWF) and UK Export Finance, which is introducing a Critical Goods Export Development Guarantee allowing businesses to apply for up to 80% guarantee on finance from commercial lenders.

Chris McDonald, the UK industry minister and IChemE Fellow, said: “We need critical minerals for everything – from the phones we use to the cars we drive – and for too long we’ve been dependent on a select few sources for our supplies of them, putting our national security at risk.

“Now, we’re taking the bold action needed to shore up our supply chains, ramp up domestic production and back businesses with the investment they need to create new jobs and drive growth, as part of our Plan for Change.”

Domestic production

The government has already invested more than £165m in critical minerals businesses, supporting around 50,000 jobs and more than 50 extraction and refining projects.

In September, the NWF committed £31m to Cornish Lithium’s Trelavour Project and its Cross Lanes Geothermal Lithium Project. As part of its production goals, the UK aims to produce at least 50,000 t of lithium, or lithium carbonate equivalent, domestically by 2035.

Other key growth areas include Devon and Cornwall for tungsten and tin, Anglesey for copper and zinc and Aberdeenshire for nickel and cobalt.

The government also emphasised its intention to continue forming partnerships with “like-minded” countries to diversify supply chains. Earlier this year, the UK struck a deal with Saudi Arabia, which is reported to hold US$2.5t of untapped mineral resources.

New materials

Alongside the critical minerals identified in the 2024 Criticality Assessment, Vision 2035 highlights additional minerals that it argues will become important to future supply chains. These include beryllium, used in aerospace and defence; chromium, also used in aerospace; copper; uranium and synthetic graphite, which is widely used in the automotive industry.

Gavin Mudd, the director of the UK Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre (CMIC), said: “Establishing secure supply chains of critical and growth minerals to achieve the UK’s economic aspirations has never been more important.

“The country’s ambitions in relation to the energy transition, economic growth, security and digital agendas are directly connected to reliable access to these resources.”