Response to UK Government Call for Evidence on Critical Minerals

Key Takeaways

• UK strategy aims to double copper, 11x lithium by 2030.
• LMN warns expansion fuels social, environmental injustices globally.
• Calls for mandatory due‑diligence and stricter AIM regulation.
• London-listed miners linked to 80+ human‑rights allegations.
• Reducing demand and boosting recycling could halve material footprint.

Pulse Analysis

The UK’s Critical Minerals Strategy is a cornerstone of its Industrial Strategy, promising to secure raw materials for clean‑energy technologies, advanced electronics, and defence. While the policy aims to position Britain as a leader in the green transition, LMN’s evidence highlights a paradox: the projected surge in copper and lithium extraction could amplify carbon emissions, water depletion, and tailings waste, especially as ore grades fall below 1%. Moreover, the strategy’s emphasis on volume overlooks the human‑rights toll on communities in Chile, Peru, Indonesia and elsewhere, where mining drives land dispossession and labour abuses.

London’s financial hub amplifies these risks. Over 170 mining firms listed on the London Stock Exchange, including giants such as Glencore and Rio Tinto, have amassed dozens of human‑rights allegations, with Glencore alone facing 80 complaints. The London Metals Exchange, the world’s benchmark market for industrial metals, trades commodities that may originate from contested sites like West Papua’s Grasberg mine. LMN therefore urges the UK to enact mandatory due‑diligence, tighten oversight of the Alternative Investment Market, and pass a Business, Human Rights and Environment Act that would legally bind companies to international ESG standards.

Beyond regulation, LMN stresses that demand‑side solutions are essential for a sustainable mineral future. By extending product lifespans, improving design for recyclability, and investing in domestic recycling infrastructure, the UK could halve its material footprint, according to the National Engineering Policy Centre. Such measures would reduce reliance on volatile overseas supply chains, lower exposure to geopolitical shocks, and align the critical‑minerals agenda with broader climate‑net‑zero goals. Integrating these approaches could transform the strategy from a volume‑driven race to a resilient, just transition for both British industry and mining‑affected communities worldwide.