UK to invest $66 million in critical minerals to reduce import reliance
LONDON - Britain will invest £50-million ($66-million) to boost domestic production of critical minerals, the government said on Monday, as it seeks to reduce reliance on concentrated global supply chains and strengthen economic resilience.
The funding will support projects across extraction, processing and recycling, aimed at securing materials used in products ranging from smartphones and fridges to electric vehicle batteries.
The move builds on more than £200-million already committed to the sector.
Industry minister Chris McDonald was set to launch the programme during a visit to a hub for industrial research in northeast England, where companies are developing technologies for metal recovery and processing.
Britain is stepping up efforts to secure supplies of critical minerals as demand rises and China retains a dominant position, accounting for about 70% of rare earth mining and 90% of refining.
"Critical minerals are vital for our national security," McDonald said.
Recent progress includes the opening of Britain's first commercial rare earth magnet plant in 25 years, operated by Mkango Resources' HyProMag unit in Birmingham, which uses recycled materials to produce magnets for electric motors and other technologies.
Britain has also sought to diversify access through partnerships with allies including the United States and South Korea, focusing on collaboration in supply chains, processing capacity and investment flows.
The new funding will be split across three pillars, including £20-million for a rare earth magnet hub, £25-million for an accelerator programme to help scale projects, and up to £5-million for a platform to aggregate industry demand and unlock private investment.
Article Enquiry
Email Article
Save Article
Feedback
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation

















