UK to unlock financing for critical minerals supply

THE UK will for the first time provide financing for manufacturers who import critical minerals, said the Financial Times.The measure was contained in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget earlier this week. The financing would be from UK Export Finance, the newspaper said.The UK is part of a coalition of 14 nations and the European Commission called the ‘Minerals Security Partnership’ which is trying to increase international collaboration and co-financing for the sector.The partnership is aimed at breaking the stranglehold China exerts over the supply of certain critical minerals. For instance, Chinese companies control 90% of the world’s processing capacity for rare earths and more than half the processing capacity for nickel, lithium and cobalt, the FT said.“There might be projects that don’t work [commercially without government support] but where the strategic value to having your own supply chain far outweighs that,” said Jeff Townsend, founder of the Critical Minerals Association. “You’ve got to build everything all at once,” from mines to processing and refining and battery manufacturing, he said.“We’re in a global race.”On Thursday, the US approved an environmental permit that paves the way for the development of the Rhyolite Ridge lithium/boron project in Nevada. Washington also extended financial incentives to miners of critical minerals as part of adjustments to the provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act.BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Rio Tinto and Anglo American were present at the unveiling of the MSP in September.Jose Fernandez, US under-secretary of state for economic growth, said a further 30 critical minerals mining projects are being evaluated by the MSP, as western governments race to secure the raw materials needed to make everything from electric vehicles to advanced weapons.“What China is doing is following the playbook of the monopolist to drive out competition,” said Fernandez, who accused Beijing of engaging in “overproduction and predatory pricing” to retain its grip on global supply of critical minerals.“We realise we can’t solve this problem with any one single country, we are stronger together,” he told the FT in an interview at the time.The post UK unlocks financing for critical minerals supply appeared first on Miningmx.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com