Delivering authoritative, impartial and independent up-to-date data, information and analysis on critical minerals that are essential to the UK economy.

The UK Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre (CMIC) supports the UK in securing adequate, timely and sustainable supplies of the minerals and metals it requires to transition its economy in the coming decades to net-zero emissions.

The UK has announced world-leading targets to decarbonise the economy, which include plans to build an electric vehicle supply chain and transform the energy system using offshore wind and clean hydrogen. Building these technologies and the associated infrastructure will require substantial quantities of critical minerals. The UK's current critical mineral needs are met almost entirely from overseas, through complex and dynamic international supply chains that often have poor end-to-end visibility. The Centre will help the Government and industry understand future UK critical minerals demand, and potential chain supply vulnerabilities.

Paul Lusty: UK Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre Director

Led by the British Geological Survey (BGS) with support from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), we work together with universities and private and public sector partners to gather and analyse intelligence on the supply and demand of critical minerals, their global value chains and use by UK industry. Our aim is to guide decision-making by government and industry to mitigate risks to supply security, helping to deliver economic prosperity and create opportunities for UK businesses in critical mineral supply chains, domestically and internationally.

News

The geological potential of the UK for battery minerals

Four reports detailing the geological potential of the UK for battery minerals have been released: Lithium, nickel, cobalt and graphite. These reports highlight the mineral uses, occurrences, exploration and production, and the resource potential.

New UK Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre reports published

'Activities related to raw material standards and resource management' and 'Good practice and recommendations for securing supply of critical raw materials' give an overview of the current situation and inform recommendations for reporting on, and management of, critical raw materials, highlighting on how new tools, developed by the UN, can contribute.

UK's first Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre to help build a more resilient economy

The UK's first-ever centre to collect and analyse information on the supply of critical minerals, which are vital to the UK's economic success and national security, has officially launched.

Centre aims

Minerals and metals perform a myriad of functions, including enabling the technologies needed to mitigate climate change by decarbonising the global economy, such as low carbon energy generation, zero-emission transport and digital systems.

Minerals are likely to assume greater importance in contributing to the UK's economic growth and high standard of living over the coming decades. This will be driven by requirements for the UK to bring all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050 and strategies to grow the advanced manufacturing sector.

In its Net Zero Strategy: Build Back Greener strategy, the UK Government made a public commitment to establish a Critical Minerals Expert Committee to provide independent advice to government on the scope and content of a Critical Minerals Strategy; and create a Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre to support its delivery. BGS is represented on the Critical Minerals Expert Committee by its Director, Karen HanghØj, and played an instrumental role in developing the CMIC concept. The work and scope of CMIC directly supports the objectives and approach of the Critical Minerals Strategy.

The CMIC aims to support the UK in securing the adequate and timely supply of the minerals and metals it requires to ensure the success of the net zero transition, mitigate risks to national security, deliver economic prosperity and create opportunities for UK businesses in critical mineral supply chains domestically and internationally. It will provide decision-makers in government and industry with independent, robust, up-to-date and future-orientated analysis and intelligence to manage the dynamic risks associated with the supply and demand of critical minerals.

This includes:

  • Accurate, high resolution data and dynamic analysis on primary and secondary minerals resources and stocks and flows of critical minerals in the UK and globally.
  • Monitoring mineral market dynamics to understand and identify associated economic, geopolitical, regulatory, environmental and ethical risks and regulatory risks and opportunities.
  • Gathering and analysing intelligence on other key factors effecting critical mineral security of supply including environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations and the developing circular economy.

The British Geological Survey

BGS will be the primary delivery body for the CMIC, drawing on its own expertise, as well as that of universities, research groups and private and public sector (UK and international) partners.

BGS has carried out minerals research to underpin policy-making, regulation and responsible investment in metals and minerals since the 1970s. This includes NERC-funded work on mineral deposit formation, exploration, mineral resources, environmental impact and mining legacy, land-use planning, commodity information, as well as monitoring and analysing production and trade statistics.

BGS is also a long-established world leader in the production of statistical data on the global and UK mineral industries. BGS publications include: World Mineral Production and the UK Minerals Yearbook.

CMIC interactive map

The CMIC interactive map displays a range of new and legacy datasets relevant to understanding the potential opportunities for developing critical mineral value chains in the UK. These include geoscience data that supports the national-scale assessment of the geological potential for critical raw materials in the UK; and the locations of selected mineral processing and refining, chemical and metal production, and recycling operations, and associated development activities.

Contact

For questions regarding the project please (enquire@ukcmic.org).