Scientists from the UK Critical Mineral Intelligence Centre (CMIC) provided a live webinar, showcasing major research outputs from the last year:

• copper waste and scrap flows for the UK
• future of digital
• the methodological progress on criticality assessments

The presentations were followed by a question-and-answer session with the panel.
A recording of the event is now available below.

As acknowledged in Vision 2035: The UK Critical Minerals Strategy, critical minerals underpin the UK economy, technology, energy transition, industrial resilience and national security. As global markets and geopolitics become more volatile and supply chains more complex, the UK must continually refine how it identifies and manages supply risks for its material needs.

E-waste is the fastest-growing waste stream in the world. The UK disposes of more than 100 000 tonnes of electrical goods every year and has over 800 million unused, unwanted and discarded electricals stashed away in homes. These electricals contain technology metals, such as lithium and the ‘rare earth elements’ (REEs), and precious metals, including gold, that are currently thrown away but, according to Material Focus research, are estimated to be worth a staggering £1 billion.

Significant carbon savings can be achieved by recycling electric motors and batteries from small appliances and other waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). Recovery of REEs and other technology metals plays a key role in improving the security of supply and significantly reducing the environmental effects of primary production.

Currently, there is limited data on where these metals are disposed of and recycled; however, over the next year, BGS ‘Mapping technology metals in electricals’ project will generate new data that will reveal the amount of potentially recoverable technology metals in WEEE products, including everyday items such as cordless vacuum cleaners, e-bikes and e-scooters. The analysis will focus on two key components found in these electronic devices: the battery and the motor.

The project will undertake detailed modelling to quantify the amount of technology metals commonly found in electrical items, therefore highlighting the potential for recovering them. For example, neodymium, a REE found in the magnets used in motors, and lithium, which is used in batteries, are both found in everyday electrical items such as e-scooters and vacuum cleaners. Data produced from this project can be used to inform business models and support investment decisions for expanding UK capabilities to recover the value of technology metals in WEEE products.

Although there is some brilliant innovation already happening, many new products still aren’t designed to be easily re-used, recycled or repaired, and we lack the systems to recover all the valuable materials inside them.

We are delighted to be announcing the first of the recipients of our new £1million Circular Electricals Fund, which will help drive innovation and support the development of a more circular electricals system in the UK. These ambitious projects aim to reduce the environmental impact of electricals by improving product design and resource efficiency, and encouraging collaboration.

Scott Butler, executive director, Material Focus.

We are delighted to have been awarded Material Focus funding to investigate the use of technology metals in everyday electrical items across their whole life, from first manufacture, through use and final disposal. We hope the outputs from this work will lead to the development of new circular business models and create commercial opportunities for recovering these valuable metals from end-of-life electrical items.

Richard Shaw, senior mineral commodity geologist, BGS.

Once complete, the report will be publicly available through the and the .

51ÁÔÆæ director of international geoscience, Maggy Heintz, and its director of national geoscience, Jonathan Ford, visited Santiago in Chile on 30 January to take part in a signing ceremony at the Ministry of Mining led by the Minister, Aurora Williams, and the British Ambassador, Louise de Sousa. The visit also tied in with the launch of Chile critical minerals strategy.

Scientists from both countries will work together to produce reliable geological information essential for the sustainable management of critical mineral deposits in Chile. They will exchange cutting-edge technology and advanced methodologies to further understand and promote sustainable practices around natural resources and how such work can contribute to the responsible development of Chile critical minerals sector.

Following on from the signing, the BGS team travelled to Calama and San Pedro de Atacama to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between BGS and the National Institute of Lithium and Salars. This MoU will strengthen collaboration and increase hydrogeological understanding of sustainable brine management.

It is an honour to be formalising such an important strategic partnership between the UK and Chile. BGS looks forward to new, science-led collaboration between our two countries, as we explore our shared interest in sustainable mining practices and natural hazard mitigation.

Maggy Heintz, director of BGS International Geoscience

51ÁÔÆæ is to create a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in partnership with the State Service of Geology and Mineral Resources of Ukraine, after a meeting between BGS Director Karen Hanghøj and Yehor Perelyhin, Ukraine Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture. The document will establish a framework through which geological projects can be pursed.

Karen Hanghøj welcomed the agreement and the opportunities it brings with it.

51ÁÔÆæ is built upon a history of strong collaborations that centralise the vital role of the subsurface in shaping resilient economies, sustainable environments and thriving societies.

I am excited by the potential to deliver innovative solutions and make a meaningful, positive impact on some of the most pressing challenges facing the world today, which will be unlocked through joint research and data exchange opportunities with Ukraine.

Dr Karen Hanghøj, BGS Director.

The talks with BGS took place as part of a visit to London that saw the Ukrainian delegation meet with the UK Government to explore the development of the critical minerals sector. Also on the agenda for the meeting was the creation of targeted training and professional development programmes for Ukrainian geologists and specialists, as investment in skills and scientific expertise are essential for the growth of strategic sectors.

Work will now focus on finalising the MoU, which will involve identifying priority projects related to the critical minerals sector and preparing the joint training programmes for Ukrainian geologists and specialists.

Today (23 November 2025), the UK Government published its for the UK. The strategy recognises the UK need to further develop links with international partners, increase domestic production where feasible and invest in the circular economy. This strategy provides a tangible blueprint for these ambitions – now accurate, real-time minerals data will be essential in supporting the Government in its objectives.

The UK Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre (CMIC), hosted by the 51ÁÔÆæ (BGS), launched in 2022 with support from the Department of Business and Trade. CMIC informs UK decision makers to enable the securing of adequate, timely and sustainable supplies of critical minerals. This will ensure that the UK can transition its economy in the coming decades to meet challenges such as achieving net zero emissions and realising the Government industrial strategy and economic growth agenda.

The geopolitical picture in 2025 demonstrates a complex, unpredictable and interconnected world. Establishing secure supply chains of critical and growth minerals to achieve the UK economic aspirations has never been more important. The country ambitions in relation to the energy transition, economic growth, security and digital agendas, are directly connected to reliable access to these resources.

Dr Gavin Mudd of BGS and director of the UK Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre (CMIC)

Almost all critical minerals are currently imported, meaning it is important to understand the complex global supply chains that deliver them. CMIC’s mission is to analyse those supply chains and provide impartial and objective advice that helps the UK secure sustainable supplies of critical minerals for its various industries. In 2024, CMIC UK Criticality Assessment revealed the vulnerability of the UK economy to supply disruption for specific minerals. The analysis was designed to support policymakers in building economic resilience and securing the minerals that are important to the country growth aspirations and national security. CMIC has played a crucial role in informing this new Government strategy.

Critical minerals are an increasingly essential part of modern society and a fundamental requirement of many technologies, including electronics, renewables and defence systems. As a result, global demand for technology-critical mineral resources is expected to quadruple by 2040.

In 2023, the UK and Canada unveiled a landmark agreement to cooperate on critical minerals. As part of this collaboration, UK Research and Innovation (51ÁÔÆæ) recently announced that five research partnerships will receive a share of the £1 million International Science Partnerships Fund. Collectively, these partnerships aim to reduce mining environmental footprint and enhance efficiency across critical mineral value chains.

51ÁÔÆæ scientists are actively involved in three of these partnerships:

• Exploration and Geomodels for Rare Earth Element Pegmatite Targets (EGRET)
• Metal Fertility and Transport in Volcanic-hosted Hydrothermal Systems
• Critical Minerals for Resilience and Sustainability (MINERS)

Exploration and Geomodels for Rare Earth Element Pegmatite Targets

EGRET is led by BGS economic geologist, Eimear Deady. Joining up with Canadian partners, the project is developing new geological models and exploration tools for rare earth element (REE) deposits in Saskatchewan, Canada. REEs are a crucial component for the magnets used in wind turbines and electric vehicles. The research will help diversify the REE supply chain and ensure high environmental standards.

We are delighted to have been awarded this grant, which allows us to work closely with our Canadian partners to improve our understanding of Saskatchewan REE-rich pegmatites. Our aim is to support the development of more diverse and resilient supply chains that can meet the rising demand for magnets, driven by green technologies.

Eimear Deady, EGRET project lead at BGS

Metal Fertility and Transport in Volcanic-hosted Hydrothermal Systems

This partnership is focused on the UK, Ireland, and Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada. Some regions are rich in volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits, which are sources of important metals such as copper, zinc and gold. The research aims to improve exploration and mining efficiency, furthering our understanding of the processes that create these deposits.

Critical Minerals for Resilience and Sustainability

Located in British Columbia, the MINERS project investigates how critical metals like tellurium, bismuth and the platinum group metals can be efficiently extracted as by-products from copper and gold deposits.

The MINERS project will explore the resilience and responsibility of UK/Canada critical minerals supply chains for lithium, nickel, cobalt and germanium, looking to develop the ways that stakeholders can improve environmental, social and governance performance and regulatory efficiency, and move towards a more circular economy.

Gavin Mudd, director of the BGS-led UK Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre

These research partnerships will protect national security interests by strengthening supply chains for critical minerals and reduce the environmental impact of mining.

‘UK/Canada sustainable critical minerals research partnerships’ is a .

Wind energy has seen a significant rise across the UK over the last 30 years, playing a crucial role in decarbonisation and increasing security around our energy supply. Within the next five years, the UK aims to install up to 50 GW from offshore wind deployment alone, more than three times that which is currently installed (16 GW). This target is driving demand for the critical materials required to produce wind turbines, with technology metals, such as the rare earth elements, playing a major role.

A created by BGS highlights the growth of wind farm deployment across the UK over time, alongside the change in power generation capacity, the wind farms’ expected life spans and their rare earth element and magnet content. The tool is hosted by the , providing information about technology metals and the circular economy approach for ‘green’ technologies such as wind turbines and electric vehicles.

Wind turbines are expected to reach their end-of-life at approximately 25 years. The new tool also estimates when this is likely to be for each site, highlighting when the wind turbines are likely to become available for re-use, refurbishment, remanufacture or recycling.

Accurate data on magnet and rare earth element content in wind turbines is essential for unlocking circular economy opportunities, enabling the recovery of high-value materials and supporting more sustainable business models.

We are pleased to launch this innovative new map viewer, which provides key insights into wind energy installations across the UK including the installed capacity and the rare earth element and magnet content.

We hope that the tool helps increase the understanding of critical minerals in wind farms and the resources they contain. In order to improve the circular economy, we need to better understand the material stocks in our wind farms and their lifetime to plan for their re-use or recycling when they reach end-of-life. As the UK is currently highly dependant on imports of rare earth elements and rare earth permanent magnets, secondary resources from end-of-life wind turbines can boost the UK supply in the future.

Stefan Horn, minerals commodity analyst at BGS and the lead developer for the new tool.

The map was created as part of an Innovate UK CLIMATES project and was co-funded by Met4Tech.

Our future resources are not only in the minerals below the ground but also in the materials we are already using. Mapping and understanding our above-ground resources, as BGS has done in this excellent map, is essential to give us the circular economy we need for a lower carbon world.

Frances Wall, principal investigator, 51ÁÔÆæ Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Centre for Technology Metals (Met4Tech).

World Mineral Production has provided a reliable and continuous set of data covering the minerals that enter international trade since 1913. The latest volume includes production figures for more than 70 mineral commodities over the five-year period from 2019 to 2023.

Key considerations

During 2023, there were several challenges for researchers to overcome, including volatility in areas such as the Middle East, Ukraine, South America and central Africa, which drove conflict as well as political and civil unrest. There was a general decrease in mineral output from these regions and obtaining mineral production data became especially challenging.

China increasingly key role in the supply of minerals crucial for green energy technologies and energy infrastructure became increasingly prominent. This supply includes graphite, refined gallium and germanium; China provides more than 70 per cent of global supply of these materials. China also imposed export restrictions on the trade of refined gallium and germanium in response to export restrictions that Europe placed on the trade of technology used to manufacture semiconductors, alongside export restrictions on certain graphite products. China cited national security concerns in the context of increasing US controls.

Over the past five years, several commodities experienced a significant decrease in their production volume, such as:

• Chinese tungsten, which decreased by about 18 per cent and has contributed to the overall global decrease in tungsten output of about 15 per cent — growing concerns about tungsten supply have led several other countries to increase investment in the tungsten sector
• mercury production decreased by 45 per cent during the past five years
  

Global production of lithium, nickel and cobalt continued to increase during 2023 because of their importance in the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries and energy storage systems:

• lithium saw the greatest increase in 2023, with a 30 per cent rise on 2022 production
• cobalt production increased significantly in 2023 by almost 23 per cent
• global nickel production in the last five years has increased by 47 per cent: in the last year alone it has grown by more than 15 per cent, driven by huge growth in Indonesia

International interest

International interest in the security of supply of minerals also continues to grow. The UK Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre (CMIC) is hosted by BGS. Notable publications during the last year include the UK 2024 Criticality Assessment and several foresight studies: these and other reports can be downloaded from the .

Previous volumes

can be found on the Minerals UK website. The information is compiled from a wide range of sources including government departments, national statistical offices, specialist commodity authorities, company reports and a network of contacts throughout the world.

Contact

For more information, please contact Naomi Idoine.