Minister launches minerals strategy at School of Mines

THE Government has launched its refreshed UK Critical Minerals Strategy during a ministerial visit to the University of Exeter, Cornwall and its world-renowned Camborne School of Mines.

- WMN REPORTER

Chris McDonald MP, Minister for Industry in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and the Department for Business and Trade, unveiled the strategy during a breakfast speech on the Penryn campus.

The Minister then took a tour of Camborne School of Mines (CSM) laboratories to see some of the cutting-edge work taking place in Cornwall, before engaging in a roundtable discussion with businesses in the sector and University experts.

The announcement follows the unveiling of the Critical Minerals Strategy by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at the G20 meeting in South Africa. It comes with a £50million fund to boost domestic production and processing, via research and initiatives to help industry commercialise and scale-up.

Leading members of CSM, including Frances Wall, Professor of Applied Mineralogy, have contributed to the strategy.