The UK needs to look at a multi-faceted approach overseen by a national strategy in order to overcome any future shortages of critical minerals for the economy.
In a breakfast chat hosted by Jeff Townsend of the Critical Minerals Association (CMA), the panel looked at technological substitutes, integration of mining businesses and a contribution to alliances as possible avenues to take.
Former Director of Intelligence at GCHQ and Associate Fellow RUSI, Clovis Meath Baker, said that the UK could turn to geo-strategic and technical substitutes if faced with a scarcity of mineral resources.
These could be found in a similar way to how Germany approached shortages following the Second World War, but the UK had to focus on achievements in a few areas to manage its resources rather than trying to control everything.
He added that free-trade economies were complicit in China’s dominance in up-mid-downstream activities, having sold to the country the means to take the economic advantage.
SUPPLY CHAINS
The panel also looked at how foreign companies were developing their own supply chains to reduce dependency on China, which was at risk of failure as the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted.
CEO of Canadian miner Mkango Resources, Will Dawes, told the panel that the degree of integrating businesses included recycling and a development of lower cost technology in order to retain market flexibility.
He added that the UK also had to remember its manufacturing capabilities to counter China’s mass volume production of magnets as well as its government support.
Director at Roskill, Jack Bedder, said that the focus should be on how supply chains compete and referred to China as a “unique beast” with its central planning system and unique level of support.
He added that a division of critical minerals into sub-sections was a eurocentric approach because critical and strategic minerals overlapped depending on political situations, and that it might be better to use the term “advantageous minerals.”
Mr Bedder said there were untapped resources of critical minerals but mining them would also involve very high standards of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG).
The CMA is the secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Critical Minerals and also presents reports and hosts online events.