On 10th March 2020, Steve Double MP launched the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Critical Minerals at the Thames Pavilion, Houses of Parliament with special guest, Minister Zahawi, the UK Minister for Business & Industry.
The APPG Critical Minerals is Chaired by Steve Double MP, St Austell and Newquay and its members include: Pauline Latham MP, Scott Mann MP, Christina Rees MP, Alex Sobel MP and Alexander Stafford MP. The evening was a huge success with over 60 individuals from across Industry and Government coming together to embrace the need for greater dialogue and strategies around the Critical Mineral space.
The evening kicked off at 7pm with an introduction by our host, Steve Double MP, highlighting the importance of Critical Minerals for our National Economy. We were honoured to welcome a special appearance by Minister Zahawi, the UK Minister for Business & Industry, who outlined his support for Critical Mineral supply chains and the UK Mining sector.
Minister Zahawi recognised that: "Industry needs to have confidence that it can access the raw materials it needs to be able to invest in the United Kingdom....We are well aware of the critical place that minerals have and how essential they are if we are to become that net zero nation by 2050."
Our subsequent speakers Jack Bedder, Roskill and Ian Higgins, Less Common Metals, provided excellent overviews of Critical Mineral trends globally, and the importance of a secure, sustainable and diversified supply chain for UK businesses.
We were delighted to have such a range of attendees: Civil Servants from across Government departments, MPs from across the country and a huge range of organisations, including:
Roskill, SRK Consulting, Diamondfields, Fasken, Minviro, Cornish Lithium, E-Tech Metals, Technical Critical Minerals, Hallgarten & Company, Less Common Metals, Strongbow Resources, Tungsten West, Strategic Minerals, Anglo American, Glencore, Vale, Mkango Resources, MMTA (Minor Metals Trade Association), Camborne School of Mines, Natural History Museum, University of Birmingham, British Geological Survey.
We're looking forward to organising future APPG Critical Minerals events and creating platforms for Industry, Academia and Government to come together to discuss Critical Minerals.
We'd like to thank Caroline Messecar for publishing an article in Argus Media about the event: https://www.argusmedia.com/e n/news/2085881-security-of-metals-supply-fundamental-uk-minister
The event was organised by the Critical Minerals Association. Our aim is to bring the Critical Mineral supply chain together, creating platforms to unite Industry and Government. We work to secure sustainable, diversified supply chains of Critical Minerals needed for our Industrial Strategy, Green Growth Agenda, National Economy and Defence. We also aim to change perception of the extractive sector and showcase internationally recognised ESG standards and best practice.
For more information or to join as a member, please contact:
Kirsty Benham kirsty@criticalmineral.org
Jeff Townsend jeff@criticalmineral.org
Website: www.criticalmineral.org
Twitter: @CMA_Minerals
Photos by Harshil Majmudar