South Crofty in my Camborne, Redruth and Hayle constituency is approaching the historic restoration of Cornish tin mining, but high energy costs risk the UK losing control of the supply chain in domestic processing and refining. If the Government are serious about building up a sovereign critical minerals supply chain, will the Minister meet me to discuss extending BICS and the industrial supercharger scheme to critical minerals?

South Crofty in my Camborne, Redruth and Hayle constituency is approaching the historic restoration of Cornish tin mining, but high energy costs risk the UK losing control of the supply chain in domestic processing and refining. If the Government are serious about building up a sovereign critical minerals supply chain, will the Minister meet me to discuss extending BICS and the industrial supercharger scheme to critical minerals?

My hon. Friend knows how eagerly I am anticipating the return of tin production in Cornwall—I want it just as much as him and his colleagues. I would be happy to meet him to see how South Crofty and the rest of the Cornish industry can benefit from the Government’s schemes.

My hon. Friend knows how eagerly I am anticipating the return of tin production in Cornwall—I want it just as much as him and his colleagues. I would be happy to meet him to see how South Crofty and the rest of the Cornish industry can benefit from the Government’s schemes.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the HM Treasury press release entitled Chancellor pledges to unlock growth in Cornwall, published on 29 July 2025, whether the Government expects to provide additional public funding to support the reopening of the South Crofty Tin mine.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the HM Treasury press release entitled Chancellor pledges to unlock growth in Cornwall, published on 29 July 2025, whether the Government expects to provide additional public funding to support the reopening of the South Crofty Tin mine.

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the domestic production of critical minerals.

It is a pleasure to serve once again under your chairship, Mrs Harris. I am pleased to have secured this debate on a subject that I believe is yet to achieve the public and pollical prominence that...

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the domestic production of critical minerals.

It is a pleasure to serve once again under your chairship, Mrs Harris. I am pleased to have secured this debate on a subject that I believe is yet to achieve the public and pollical prominence that...

My hon. Friend mentions the critical minerals list; it is my view that the list needs to evolve to keep up with the increasing demands that we face, and to account for the production of minerals that we have in this country. In my part of the world we produce...

My hon. Friend mentions the critical minerals list; it is my view that the list needs to evolve to keep up with the increasing demands that we face, and to account for the production of minerals that we have in this country. In my part of the world we produce...

It is essential that there is an ongoing dialogue about the critical minerals list. I attended a conference yesterday with the British Geological Survey, at which it explained how it came up with the critical minerals list. My hon. Friend is absolutely right that we need to focus on those...

It is essential that there is an ongoing dialogue about the critical minerals list. I attended a conference yesterday with the British Geological Survey, at which it explained how it came up with the critical minerals list. My hon. Friend is absolutely right that we need to focus on those...

I apologise for being late, and I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important debate. I agree that the market of critical minerals is intensely concentrated in China. Therefore, for security reasons, for economic opportunities and to achieve net zero, it is vital to secure the domestic supply chain....

I apologise for being late, and I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important debate. I agree that the market of critical minerals is intensely concentrated in China. Therefore, for security reasons, for economic opportunities and to achieve net zero, it is vital to secure the domestic supply chain....

I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention and wholeheartedly agree with him. As I will mention later, although I am Cornish and focus on Cornwall, there are benefits to be had throughout the United Kingdom.

Relying unreservedly on international supply chains increases our global carbon emissions and means we cannot...

I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention and wholeheartedly agree with him. As I will mention later, although I am Cornish and focus on Cornwall, there are benefits to be had throughout the United Kingdom.

Relying unreservedly on international supply chains increases our global carbon emissions and means we cannot...

My hon. Friend is making a compelling case, not just for the national security implications of critical minerals, but for the welcome huge economic benefits. Given that, does he welcome the Government’s commitment to bring forward a new strategy for critical minerals security? Does he agree that that would bring...

My hon. Friend is making a compelling case, not just for the national security implications of critical minerals, but for the welcome huge economic benefits. Given that, does he welcome the Government’s commitment to bring forward a new strategy for critical minerals security? Does he agree that that would bring...

I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention and wholeheartedly agree, once again, with the desire for the Government to focus on critical minerals, hopefully developing the critical minerals strategy as a core part of the UK’s overall industrial strategy. I will talk more about that later.

Beneath Cornwall lies a...

I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention and wholeheartedly agree, once again, with the desire for the Government to focus on critical minerals, hopefully developing the critical minerals strategy as a core part of the UK’s overall industrial strategy. I will talk more about that later.

Beneath Cornwall lies a...

Australia is the world’s largest lithium producer, but nearly all its lithium is exported to China for battery

production there, and there is very little domestic battery production. Does my hon. Friend agree that the UK, if it follows the path that he wants it to, should not fall into...

Australia is the world’s largest lithium producer, but nearly all its lithium is exported to China for battery

production there, and there is very little domestic battery production. Does my hon. Friend agree that the UK, if it follows the path that he wants it to, should not fall into...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. As I mentioned, the risk is that we have a small number of dominant players from areas of the world that are potentially geopolitically sensitive for the UK and the west. It is crucial that we focus on our own domestic critical mineral production,...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. As I mentioned, the risk is that we have a small number of dominant players from areas of the world that are potentially geopolitically sensitive for the UK and the west. It is crucial that we focus on our own domestic critical mineral production,...

It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. I am sorry I missed you yesterday, but I am back in line today. It is really nice to be here.

I thank the hon. Member for Camborne and Redruth (Perran Moon) for leading the debate. He made the...

It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. I am sorry I missed you yesterday, but I am back in line today. It is really nice to be here.

I thank the hon. Member for Camborne and Redruth (Perran Moon) for leading the debate. He made the...

It is an honour to follow the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) and to speak in a debate called by my hon. Friend the Member for Camborne and Redruth (Perran Moon), with whom I often joke about critical minerals. Honestly, it is funny. I had thought that if I...

It is an honour to follow the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) and to speak in a debate called by my hon. Friend the Member for Camborne and Redruth (Perran Moon), with whom I often joke about critical minerals. Honestly, it is funny. I had thought that if I...

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Tom Hayes) for his speech and my hon. Friend the Member for Camborne and Redruth (Perran Moon) for securing this vital debate and for his thorough introduction to critical minerals. I must begin by declaring an interest as chair of...

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Tom Hayes) for his speech and my hon. Friend the Member for Camborne and Redruth (Perran Moon) for securing this vital debate and for his thorough introduction to critical minerals. I must begin by declaring an interest as chair of...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Harris. I congratulate the hon. Member for Camborne and Redruth (Perran Moon), not only on bringing this issue to the House’s attention, but on the manner in which he introduced it, emphasising its importance.

There have been a number of contributions...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Harris. I congratulate the hon. Member for Camborne and Redruth (Perran Moon), not only on bringing this issue to the House’s attention, but on the manner in which he introduced it, emphasising its importance.

There have been a number of contributions...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Harris, and I congratulate the hon. Member for Camborne and Redruth (Perran Moon) on securing this important debate. As he set out, critical minerals are essential for our transition away from fossil fuels while offering economic opportunities in areas where...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Harris, and I congratulate the hon. Member for Camborne and Redruth (Perran Moon) on securing this important debate. As he set out, critical minerals are essential for our transition away from fossil fuels while offering economic opportunities in areas where...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for mentioning Weardale Lithium, which is in my constituency, as is Northern Lithium. The regulatory framework for companies trying to invest in lithium is not supportive, and they face waits of one or two years for planning approval from the Environment Agency.

I will...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for mentioning Weardale Lithium, which is in my constituency, as is Northern Lithium. The regulatory framework for companies trying to invest in lithium is not supportive, and they face waits of one or two years for planning approval from the Environment Agency.

I will...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman— I hope he will forgive me; I did not realise that Weardale Lithium is in his constituency, otherwise I would have acknowledged that. He is absolutely right about the regulatory issues that we face. Every MP will know of the difficulties that the...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman— I hope he will forgive me; I did not realise that Weardale Lithium is in his constituency, otherwise I would have acknowledged that. He is absolutely right about the regulatory issues that we face. Every MP will know of the difficulties that the...

It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris, and a pleasure to speak in such an important debate. I congratulate Parliament’s official tin champion, my hon. Friend the Member for Camborne and Redruth (Perran Moon), on securing this debate. I thank him for the conversations we have...

It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris, and a pleasure to speak in such an important debate. I congratulate Parliament’s official tin champion, my hon. Friend the Member for Camborne and Redruth (Perran Moon), on securing this debate. I thank him for the conversations we have...