County Hall Marriott Hotel, Westminster, London

The UK has launched its first Critical Minerals Strategy, while the US has developed an Industrial Strategy and the EU has announced its European Critical Raw Material Act. Canada and Australia are also following suit.

Russia’s attack on Ukraine and the ensuing war has focused minds on the metals supply chain for rare earths, battery raw materials, the so-called green technology metals and critical minerals as the restrictions on gas supplies and the demand for modern weaponry focuses minds.

Deadlines to meet net carbon zero targets are also fast-approaching and governments have come late to the table to address how they ensure supplies of metals are available that are needed to support mass electrification.

This one-and-a-half-day event will look at what governments are doing? Is it enough? What obstacles does government intervention pose to free markets? What policy should be developed? Can regulation be simplified to encourage investment? How is the industry responding to supply chain concerns? What are the implications of ESG?

We’ll look at a range of policy areas and metals to explore the issues of how we ensure security of supply and the impact that geopolitical concerns in terms of defence and energy and bringing to rare earths and energy transition metals. Are we achieving our net zero targets? Are we close to achieving security of supply?

How do we ensure security of supply in an age of geopolitical uncertainty? Restoring supply chain certainty for energy?