BRITAIN is committing £50m to expand domestic critical minerals production, processing and recycling, as the government moves to reduce dependence on supply chains dominated by a handful of countries, said Reuters on Monday.
Industry minister Chris McDonald announced the funding during a visit to an industrial research hub in northeast England, where firms are developing metal recovery and processing technologies, the newswire said.
The investment is divided into three streams: £20m for a rare earth magnet hub, £25m for a scaling accelerator programme, and up to £5m for a demand-aggregation platform intended to unlock private capital. It adds to more than £200m the government has already directed to the sector.
Critical minerals underpin a wide range of manufactured goods, from smartphones and refrigerators to electric vehicle batteries. Britain’s push to secure domestic supply reflects concern over China’s outsized role in global markets — the country accounts for roughly 70% of rare earth mining and around 90% of refining capacity.
“Critical minerals are vital for our national security,” McDonald said.
Recent milestones include the opening of Britain’s first commercial rare earth magnet plant in a quarter-century. The Birmingham facility, operated by HyProMag — a unit of Mkango Resources — uses recycled feedstock to manufacture magnets for electric motors and related technologies.
Britain has also pursued supply diversification through bilateral partnerships with the United States and South Korea, focusing on supply chain collaboration, processing investment and coordinated capital flows, said Reuters.
