The essentiality of both minerals and minerals planners was a recurring theme at last month's Minerals Planning Conference, jointly hosted by Mineral Products Association (MPA) and the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI). More than 300 delegates, in person and online, attended the 2023 MPA/RTPI conference, 'Minerals Planning at a Crossroads', in London on 15 June to hear from a range of expert speakers about the challenges facing minerals planning and how these may be met. Common themes were the essentiality of all minerals for the economy and society, a planning system that allows need to be met sustainably, and the importance of minerals planners, coupled with how to train and attract people into the profession. Following an introduction by Lindsey Richards, vice-president of the RTPI, the keynote address was provided by Dr Karen Hanghoj, director of the British Geological Survey, who explained which minerals may be considered 'critical' due to high value and risk to supply in the context of other 'essential' minerals, and highlighted that what is essential today could become critical tomorrow should supply be disrupted. Given the global development challenges taking place, the case was presented that demand for primary minerals, even with high levels of recycling, would invariably increase in order to meet societal needs.
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