The British Geological Society (BGS) has produced a report identifying areas in the UK prospective for critical raw materials for the Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre (CMIC).

The national-scale assessment of the geological potential for critical raw materials (CRMs) in the UK represents one of the first steps in the UK Government’s critical minerals strategy, which aims to accelerate UK resiliency in the CRM supply chains by bolstering domestic capability.

CRMs are those minerals that are economically important, such as those needed to make batteries and semiconductors, and are at the greatest risk of supply chain disruptions.

Prospective minerals identified in the map include lithium, graphite, nickle, and cobalt, which are all involved across various levels of electronic manufacturing, from semiconductors and batteries used in electric vehicles, mobile phones, wind turbines, and even car keys.

According to the CMIC, securing lithium for battery manufacturing could be crucial in increasing the UK’s electric vehicle capabilities, further advancing green technologies.

The semiconductor supply chain is one of the most vital – and vulnerable – chains in the world, and the globe saw massive interruption sin the semiconductor supply chain, impacting everything from phones to car keys.

Many countries are now taking it upon themselves to be more resilient and independent from the global chain, which is largely dependent on Taiwan, the largest manufacturer of semiconductors in the world.

This fight for independence is hampered, however, by the availability of the precious metals that go into semiconductor and battery manufacturing.

While the process itself is complex and requires significant infrastructure investments, ascertaining a domestic supply of raw materials would be critical in setting the UK apart if another global supply chain incident were to occur.

The UK currently as 18 metals and minerals on its CRM list, with another six materials classes has having elevated criticality. These metals are almost exclusively obtained from mining and refining operations in other countries although tungsten has been mined in the UK in recent years.

Critical Raw Materials in the UK

BGS has identified large parts of the country as prospective for CRMs, with key areas including:

• an area around Loch Maree near Gairloch, Scotland
• parts of the central Highlands and Aberdeenshire, Scotland
• areas in mid-County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
• parts of Cumbria, England
• parts of the North Pennine orefield, England
• north-west Wales
• Pembrokeshire, Wales
• south-west England

Using a mineral systems approach which relies on the concept that minerals of a certain type are formed by a combination of particular geological processes, BGS cross-referenced these criteria with current UK datasets to map out the areas which were most likely to have CRM deposits.

In Mining Inevitable?

Not according to the researchers, the paper stresses.

While BGS was able to identify areas as prospective, this does not necessarily mean they will be targeted for exploration and mining.

“Our report identifies the parts of the UK where the geological criteria have been met and therefore have the potential for deposits to occur. There are no guarantees,” emphasised Eimear Deady, a BGS Mineral Resource Geologist.

“The report focuses on the geological evidence and does not consider potential constraints on development, for example where there are areas of outstanding beauty, villages and towns, or other environmental considerations.

“Much more research is required and, if prospectors find evidence of commercially viable CRM deposits, they will have to go through the well-established planning process. Only one in a thousand potential mineral exploration projects ever becomes an operating mine.”

Recommended

• Critical Vulnerabilities Found in Microsoft Message Queuing
• Scots Rural Small Businesses Struggling Due to Poor Broadband
• Scottish Games Week to Return Later This Year

But mining is not completely out of the question.

“Mining in the UK has a long history and many of the prospective areas have been mined before,” Dr. Kathryn Goodenough, co-author and BGS Principal Geologist said.

“For example, the Llŷn Peninsula of North Wales was mined for many years for manganese, which was originally important for steel making. In the future, the manganese deposits could be important for battery production.”

Indeed, mining in the UK stretches back to prehistoric times, and currently, gold, barite, fluorite, gypsum, potash, and polyhalite are being exploited.

Further exploration for many raw materials is occurring across the whole of the UK. And according to the Goodenough, the UK is not the only one looking at domestic potentials to lessen their dependence on the global supply chain.

“Other countries like Canada, the USA, Norway, Sweden and Finland are also mapping their own geological potential as they too understand the risk of continuing to rely entirely on global supply chains for minerals that are absolutely vital to our way of life.”