Living with Minerals 7

摘要

The UK's economic recovery and journey to net-zero carbon requires essential minerals and mineral products that are sourced locally and extracted responsibly. That was one of the key conclusions of the seventh joint CBI and MPA 'Living with Minerals' conference (LWM7), which stressed the need for more supportive national policy to help to create an environment for investment in UK minerals. Three years after the launch of the UK's ground-breaking Minerals Strategy at LWM6 in 2018, the online event revisited the strategy's three 'pillars' - economic, environmental and social - to assess what progress had been made and what more needs to be done. Facilitated by environmental journalist and broadcaster Sue Nelson, the half-day conference on 15 July was attended by more than 250 delegates and included compelling presentations and thought-provoking panel sessions from speakers in the minerals industry, as well as academia, regulators, planners and nongovernmental organizations. Nigel Jackson, chair of the CBI Minerals Group and chief executive of the MPA, introduced the event with a reminder of the development of the UK Minerals Strategy over 20 years, stressing that it was more important than ever and should continue to be used to steer policy and behaviour. He highlighted the essentiality of minerals and how the strategy was aimed at helping decision makers 'make the link' between minerals, the economy and quality of life. Minerals, he said, were often taken for granted and supply was assumed, whereas it needs to be planned, monitored and managed.