Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the deposits of lithium in Wales and Scotland; and whether they will ensure that all such is conveyed to the respective devolved authorities.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Critical Minerals Strategy committed to collate UK geoscientific data and identify areas of geological potential for critical mineral extraction. The Department for Business and Trade commissioned the British Geological Survey to undertake the study, “Potential for Critical Raw Material Prospectivity in the UK”, delivered by the Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre (CMIC) and was published in 2023. It is a preliminary assessment of geological factors only, and its findings do not mean prospective areas identified will necessarily be targeted for exploration and mining. Mineral planning policy is also a devolved matter.
Areas of potential geological prospectivity for critical minerals were identified in both Scotland and Wales. Regarding the geological prospectivity for lithium, the report identified two areas in Scotland and no areas in Wales.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of deposits of lithium in Wales and Scotland, and what discussions they have had with the respective devolved administrations to ensure they are aware of such information.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Critical Minerals Strategy committed to collate UK geoscientific data and identify areas of geological potential for critical mineral extraction. The Department for Business and Trade commissioned the British Geological Survey to undertake the study, “Potential for Critical Raw Material Prospectivity in the UK”, delivered by the Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre (CMIC) and was published in 2023. It is a preliminary assessment of geological factors only, and its findings do not mean prospective areas identified will necessarily be targeted for exploration and mining. Mineral planning policy is also a devolved matter.
Areas of potential geological prospectivity for critical minerals were identified in both Scotland and Wales. Regarding the geological prospectivity for lithium, the report identified two areas in Scotland and no areas in Wales.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to strengthen regulatory certainty for (a) the lithium industry and (b) other critical mineral industries.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The government’s Critical Minerals Strategy sets out how we are improving the resilience of critical mineral supply chains, safeguarding UK industry, increasing confidence in the UK’s energy transition, and protecting national security.
In terms of regulatory certainty, the Strategy sets out how we will ensure that UK domestic critical mineral companies comply with permitting and planning regulations, and how we will encourage the proportionate use of globally recognised frameworks and guidelines for responsible mining that protect the interests of communities and our natural environment.
Specifically on lithium, the Health and Safety Executive has published a Technical Report on the mandatory classification of three lithium substances (lithium carbonate, lithium chloride and lithium hydroxide) which identified additional information which requires further consideration and assessment before a Ministerial decision is made on the mandatory classification and labelling of these lithium substances in Great Britain.
To strengthen the UK’s domestic lithium industry, UK Infrastructure Bank recently invested approximately £24 million to support the mineral exploration company Cornish Lithium in St Ives.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park on 8 December (HL Deb, col 252), what plans they have to hold discussions with major technology companies regarding the use of child labour in cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and in particular its role in the extraction of lithium for use in batteries.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Illicit mining in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the use of child labour remains a problem. We regularly raise the issue of child labour in DRC's mining sector both with the DRC government and through multilateral fora such as the Human Rights Council. With the DRC providing 70% of the global supply of cobalt, the UK remains committed to the urgency of addressing child forced and bonded labour in cobalt supply chains. The UK supports the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) which aims to improve transparency and governance in the mining sector. We are actively working with international partners and the Government of DRC to encourage responsible private sector activity and to address the governance and human rights issues linked to illicit mining. The UK provided funding to the "Effective Approaches to Ending the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Fragile Contexts", a multi-stakeholder consortium which develops innovative approaches to ending child labour in DRC.
Asked by: Mark Jenkinson (Conservative - Workington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what impact a presumption against issuing any further Hydraulic Fracturing Consents on the basis of potential seismic events may have on (a) sourcing geothermal energy, (b) exploration for lithium and other minerals and (c) other planning consents that may result in seismic activity.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Infrastructure Act 2015 set out provisions for ‘associated hydraulic fracturing’ where it is defined as hydraulic fracturing of shale or strata encased in shale for the purposes of searching for or extracting petroleum or natural gas. The presumption against issuing any further Hydraulic Fracturing Consents on the basis of potential seismic events should therefore have no impact on sourcing geothermal energy or the exploration for lithium and other minerals.
The control and mitigation of induced seismicity for deep geothermal projects is based on the British Standard BS 6472-2 (BSI, 2008), which defines limits for acceptable levels of ground vibrations caused by blasting and quarrying, and other local planning authority guidelines for blasting, quarrying, and mining. These thresholds are defined in terms of measured ground velocity rather than seismicity.
Asked by: Mark Jenkinson (Conservative - Workington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what impact a presumption against issuing any further Hydraulic Fracturing Consents on the basis of potential seismic events may have on (a) sourcing geothermal energy and (b) exploration for lithium and other minerals.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Infrastructure Act 2015 set out provisions for ‘associated hydraulic fracturing’ where it is defined as hydraulic fracturing of shale or strata encased in shale for the purposes of searching for or extracting petroleum or natural gas. The presumption against issuing any further Hydraulic Fracturing Consents on the basis of potential seismic events should therefore have no impact on sourcing geothermal energy or the exploration for lithium and other minerals.
The control and mitigation of induced seismicity for deep geothermal projects is based on the British Standard BS 6472-2 (BSI, 2008), which defines limits for acceptable levels of ground vibrations caused by blasting and quarrying, and other local planning authority guidelines for blasting, quarrying, and mining. These thresholds are defined in terms of measured ground velocity rather than seismicity.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to help encourage (a) domestic critical minerals exploration and (b) mining finance in the UK.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Government will publish a UK Critical Minerals Strategy in 2022, setting out our approach to securing technology-critical minerals and metals. This will take into account the types of support offered by other nations and input from the Critical Minerals Expert Committee.
Funds such as the Automotive Transformation Fund, National Security Strategic Investment Fund, UK Infrastructure Bank, UK Export Finance, and R&D via the National Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Research are available to support investments at various points along the critical minerals value chain in specific sectors. For example, Cornish Lithium has received support via the Getting Building Fund (2020) and Automotive Transformation Fund (2021) and British Lithium has received grant funding from Innovate UK (2020) and the Sustainable Innovation Fund (2021).
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take steps to ensure that companies listed in the UK which are engaged in lithium mining in the UK do not fall under the control of the Government of the People's Republic of China.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Mergers and takeovers are primarily commercial matters for the parties involved. The Government has powers under the Enterprise Act 2002 to intervene in transactions which raise national security concerns. The Government has recently strengthened those powers through the National Security and Investment Act 2021.
Asked by: Steve Double (Conservative - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to improve domestic critical minerals supply, with specific regard to (a) mineral rights and (b) planning applications.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is supporting opportunities to secure the domestic extraction of critical materials, such as lithium. For example, we are supporting Cornish Lithium and Geothermal Engineering, who are collaborating to build a zero-carbon lithium extraction pilot plant at an existing site in Cornwall.
The UK is also playing a crucial role in ensuring that strong environmental standards are upheld in the growing deep sea mining industry, to ensure that the International Seabed Authority (ISA) regulatory regime effectively protects these ecosystems for years to come.
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) states that it is essential that there is a sufficient supply of minerals to provide the infrastructure, buildings, energy and goods that the country needs. The NPPF states that mineral planning authorities should plan for a steady and adequate supply of industrial minerals, including by encouraging safeguarding or stockpiling so that important minerals remain available for use. The NPPF states that when determining planning applications, great weight should be given to the benefits of mineral extraction, including to the economy.
Asked by: Steve Double (Conservative - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps she is taking to attract critical mineral companies to (a) invest in UK businesses and (b) set up business in the UK.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for International Trade (DIT) and partners in other Departments are working together to identify and target critical minerals extractive, processing and refining companies to invest in the UK, with a focus on the critical raw materials required to deliver Industrial Strategy objectives. Our Foreign Direct Investment strategy is similarly focused on securing investment in the extraction and, crucially, processing of these commodities. This includes support for the development of indigenous resources, such as lithium in Cornwall, through our Mining High Potential Opportunity programme, along with driving processing capacity.