Critical Minerals Association (UK) - Working Group Chairs 2025

The Critical Minerals Association (UK) has five working groups -- forums where our members come together to share and discuss common interests and challenges in the critical minerals sphere. They form the fabric of the Association: from sharing industry updates to bringing experts together for thought-provoking discussions, our members collaborate in our working groups and determine the workshops, events, reports, interviews, and outreach programmes needed to drive the UK's critical minerals agenda.  

The five working groups of the CMA (UK) consist of:  

• UK Domestic Critical Minerals 

• International Critical Minerals 

• Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG)  

• Circular Economy 

• Public Perceptions & Engagement 

With the support of our members and our working groups, CMA (UK) has been able to successfully bring critical minerals issues to the UK Government’s attention. For these achievements we owe thanks to our brilliant working group chairs, who commit their time and expert knowledge to progressing our goals of creating responsible supply chains, bridging the gap between industry and government, and educating civil society about modern mining. We also owe thanks to all the active participants of our working groups for their enthusiasm, expertise, and ideas.  

We hope to expand upon the good work accomplished in 2024 and carry it into 2025. We thank our former working group Chairs for their diligence and welcome our new and continuing Chairs. Together we look forward to more progress and collaboration! 

International Working Group 

The CMA (UK) is pleased to welcome back Ian Coles as Co-Chair of our International Critical Minerals Working Group, and to welcome Spencer Page as our new Co-Chair. Spencer manages corporate affairs in the UK and EU as well as issue-specific international affairs for Vale Base Metals. Prior to Vale Base Metals, Spencer spent seven years working for the Government of Canada, in various roles including for Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs. He brings a wealth of knowledge of the mining industry, international relations, government policy, and cross-cultural relationship building to the working group. We look forward to his contributions as Chair. 

“Promoting an internationally competitive operating environment and broadening market access for the UK’s critical minerals ecosystem will be my top priorities for 2025,” says Spencer. “This involves addressing energy costs to ensure the UK’s global competitiveness and working with partner jurisdictions to secure ongoing access to feedstock and export markets worldwide, enabling this essential sector thrive.” 

“I am eager to collaborate with Ian, the CMA (UK) team, and all members to uphold and enhance the Association’s reputation as a trusted partner for both UK Government and international partners.”  

Our International Critical Minerals Working Group aims to mitigate the risks of supply disruptions by supporting the development and integration of alternative, responsible critical mineral supply chains, from producers to end-users. This includes forging bilateral and multilateral partnerships on critical minerals between the UK and like-minded nations, providing opportunities for international networking and strategy alignment, supporting CMA (UK) chapters operating overseas, and more.  

The Working Group’s activities in 2024 included:  

• Welcoming His Excellency the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the UK to the CMA (UK)’s 4th Annual Conference at the Royal College of Physicians in London, which featured a side event on Critical Mineral Partnership Opportunities in Central Asia and Eastern Europe supported by the Department for Business and Trade;  

• Collaborating with the Department for Business and Trade to organise a business delegation of senior industry and government representatives from Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Turkey and Uzbekistan for a one-week tour of mineral processing and other project sites in the UK;  

• Organising and co-hosting a breakfast reception at PDAC 2024 with UK Government, featuring speakers such as the British Consul General to Toronto, the British Deputy High Commissioner to Canada, and Canada’s Minister for Innovation, Science & Industry;  

• Partnering with the Cape Mining Club to promote UK businesses at a Cabo Beach Club networking reception alongside Indaba 2024.  

Domestic Critical Minerals Working Group 

 We are pleased to welcome our new Chairs: Dennis Rowland, Project Manager at Cornwall Resources Limited, and Chris Yeomans, Head of Data and Innovation at Cornish Lithium.  

Dennis leads the Cornwall Resources team in advancing the Redmoor Project. Redmoor hosts a polymetallic, sheeted vein system resource comprising tungsten, tin and copper mineralisation. Dennis has been a member of the Domestic Working Group since 2021 and has contributed to calls for evidence and policy responses. Prior to his current role at Cornwall Resources, Dennis worked as a Geologist for West Cumbria Mining, Dalradian Gold, The Moultrie Group, and GETECH Plc. Dennis brings a wealth of knowledge regarding UK domestic exploration projects and the barriers they face to advancing towards mining, stakeholder engagements and policy.  

Dennis said, “It becomes more evident by the day that it is strategically important that the UK, working with key partners and allies, secures its supply of critical minerals. These resources are vital to the UK’s ability to meet the Governments industrial strategy.” 

“The UK Domestic Mining Working group has previously contributed commentary and feedback to UK Government strategy and policy development, and it is my hope that we can continue to build upon this and highlight to Government that more needs to be done to support domestic projects and at a great pace. It is also my hope to foster most collaboration across working groups, and members to strengthen ties and collaborations towards this end.” 

Chris is a geoscientist and technical manager with diverse experience in managing industrial research programmes including data science, data digitisation and airborne geophysical surveys. He has been involved in the Domestic Working Group since 2022 and has championed the collection of geophysical surveys at a national scale. Before joining Cornish Lithium, Chris completed a PhD in applying machine learning to mineral exploration, with a particular focus on Cornwall and Devon.  

“We live in the age of data, and it is a lack of data that hinders our domestic exploration efforts in the UK. This must change,” says Chris. “Is it not just about collecting data to find the UK’s critical minerals but baseline environmental and social data to make the best decisions when developing these resources.  

The Domestic Critical Minerals Working Group aims to create an enabling environment in the UK for critical minerals extraction and processing businesses, as well as understanding, reviewing and improving the legislation to boost industry growth. The Group also promotes the UK’s world-leading expertise, research and education, such as in the geosciences and the circular economy.  

We thank our 2024 Chairs, Peter Robinson (Weardale Lithium) and Patrick Anderson (Dalradian) for their hard work and dedication. The Working Group’s activities and accomplishments in 2024 included: 

• Submitting a response to the Critical Mineral Intelligence Centre’s consultation on the proposed methodology for the UK’s updated 2024 Critical Minerals List  

• Working with various stakeholders on expanding the availability of mineral rights and geological data in the UK, to facilitate the growth of domestic industry  

• Feeding into the Department for Business and Trade’s consultation on the UK Industrial Strategy, making the case for the critical minerals sector to be classified as a strategic Foundational Sector  

  
  

Circular Economy Working Group  

The CMA (UK) is pleased to welcome back Lucy Smith as the Chair of our Circular Economy Working Group, and to welcome Thomas Kelly (Ionic Technologies) as our new co-Chair in 2025. Currently serving as Director of Operations for Ionic Technologies, Thomas is leading the commercialisation of Ionic Technologies in the UK from the business’s base in Belfast, having previously led businesses in water, power and carbon capture.  

“It is fantastic to be co-chairing the CMA (UK) Circular Economy Working Group,” says Thomas. “The Group has made strides to get the voices of members organisations heard across multiple platforms. I am excited to build on the excellent work already achieved by the Group, which our co-Chair Lucy Smith has led. 

In my role as Director of Operations in Ionic Technologies, I am experiencing some of the challenges that the Group is addressing first hand, and I feel that the CMA (UK) is consistently being an active voice representing businesses looking to promote a circular economy for critical minerals. The Circular Economy Working Group will continue to encourage collaboration, enhance capability, influence positive legislation and enable supply chain integration.” 

The Circular Economy Working Group aims to promote and facilitate the emergence of the circular economy in the UK. To ensure the development of resilient and responsible critical mineral supply chains, the UK must ramp up nation-wide recycling initiatives, invest in research & development into material substitution and energy-saving technologies, and update and improve legislation on waste collection and recycling.  

The Working Group’s activities in 2024 included:  

• Representing UK critical minerals at E-Waste World in Frankfurt 

• Developing a circular economy policy paper 

• Supporting UK Government with circular economy recommendations 

• Developing innovation and academic partnerships around the circular economy 

Perceptions and Engagement Working Group 

We are pleased to welcome back Chris Stockey as the Co-Chair of the Public Perceptions and Engagement Working Group. This Group aims to communicate the importance of critical minerals for our modern and future green economy, encourage young people to pursue careers in geosciences and related disciplines, and collaborate with stakeholders to positively engage and reframe the public perception of mining.  

We welcome Kate Moore as Co-Chair of the working group. Kate is a specialist in Critical and Green Technology Metals at the Camborne School of Mines, University of Exeter. She has more than 30 years' experience in education and outreach, as well as research.  She is strongly committed to raising awareness of how geoscience and engineering knowledge/skills inform and ground wider dialogues about sustainability and futures pathways.

We thank our 2024 Chair, Lucy Crane (Cornish Lithium), for her hard work and passion over the past five years chairing and leading the working group. Her insight was invaluable for the growth of the Association and will be missed. The Working Group’s activities and accomplishments in 2024 included:  

• Hosting a breakfast reception at Innovation Zero 2024 in London, welcoming stakeholders such as the Mining Association of the UK and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero  

• Submitting a public response to the Department for Education’s consultation on the Advanced British Standard, a new proposed system for UK further education 

• Delivering a careers event in partnership with the Natural History Museum called ‘Careers for Next Generation Minerals’, welcoming over 100 students, parents and teachers from across the UK to the Natural History Museum in London 

• Organising a workshop on Skills Development for the UK’s Critical Minerals Sector with a specific focus on the midstream and recycling sectors, supported by the Department for Business and Trade, IOM3, Innovate UK and Imperial College London 

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Working Group 

We are pleased to welcome our new Chair of the ESG Working Group, Maria-Yassin Jah, Transition Finance Lead at SLR Consulting. Maria’s professional experience over the past 16 years has been focused on the intersection between sustainable finance, the energy and commodities sectors, and sustainable development. In her current role, she supports organisations on both sides of investment transactions, helping investees to develop and embed ESG strategies to meet investor, regulatory, market and community expectations. She also helps investors with interested due diligence activities, covering commercial, technical and ESG considerations. 

Maria will be bringing a specific sustainable finance angle to the working group as our 2025 priority. 

Maria said: “Sustainable financing of critical minerals is a key factor in enabling the energy transition. Building on my and my organisation’s experience in this area, I look forward to working with the CMA and its members to explore current challenges and develop possible solutions that will unlock the necessary finance to move the energy transition dial forward.” 

We thank our 2024 Chairs, Robert Pell (Minviro) and Jane Joughin (SRK Consulting) for their hard work and passion. The Working Group’s activities and accomplishments in 2024 included: 

• Collaborating with stakeholders at the British Standards Institute (BSI) and the UK Cabinet Office on updating the ISO standards for critical minerals  

• Compiling a report on the ESG opportunities and challenges for developing a domestic integrated lithium-ion battery supply chain in the UK, featuring the latest in UK research and project growth.  

• Working with members and stakeholders to chart out opportunities in green finance for the UK critical minerals sector, including mapping the applicability of alternative models of financing such as green bonds, credit guarantees, etc.  

If you're interested in finding out more about the association or our working groups, please contact kirsty@criticalmineral.org.

Article by Eileen Maes, Communications Manager, Critical Minerals Association (UK)