The Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre (CMIC) is intended to improve the resilience of the UK’s critical mineral supply chain by providing policymakers with up-to-date data and analysis on supply, demand, and market dynamics.

The centre will be based in Nottingham, UK, and be run by the British Geological Survey (BGS).  The CMIC will aim 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.

The intention of the CMIC is to keep the UK “…ahead of an increasingly competitive global market for critical minerals”.  But in reality, the UK needs to play catch up.  Much will depend on the ambition of the UK Critical Minerals Strategy, due later in 2022, which is expected to set out the government’s approach to bolstering the resilience of the country’s critical mineral supply chains.

Project Blue believes that a major priority for the Strategy must be to ensure that the UK has a reliable supply of critical minerals and metals. Security of supply is a key issue for the UK: Project Blue’s Critical Minerals Risk Index (CMRI) puts 36/40 of the materials scrutinised at medium- or high supply risk for the UK. 

Further, the Strategy must set out a realistic path towards getting the UK more involved in critical materials supply chains and establishing an enabling environment for growing the sector in the country.  Ultimately, the UK’s role in the critical materials supply chain is not going to be grounded in mine production: currently the country mines just one of the 40 materials listed in Project Blue’s CMRI. However, there is scope to increase this with a small number of critical materials projects currently under development. What’s more, the UK has the potential to build upon its position as a small-scale refiner and recycler, while also being home to a wide variety of world-class firms and organisations outside of the extractive sector which can play a part in the critical materials supply chain.