Sponsored by Cornish Metals, Mkango Resources, SRK Consulting and Vale Base Metals
Supported by the UK Department for Business and Trade
10:00 – 10:30 Arrivals with Teas and Coffees
Session 1: New Policies, New Directions
- 10:30 – 10:35 Opening Remarks - Kirsty Benham, CMA (UK)
- 10:35 – 10:45 Keynote Address – UK Minister for Industry, Chris McDonald MP
- 10:45 – 11:05 Critical Minerals Outlook 2025 - Shobhan Dhir, International Energy Agency
- 11:05 – 11:35 Fireside Chat with the Ministers of Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia
- 11:30 – 11:55 Fireside Chat with Minister of Energy & Mines for Ontario, the Honourable Stephen Leece
- 11:55 – 12:05 Presentation – UK International Update – Oliver Richards, Head of Critical Minerals & Mining (International), Department for Business and Trade (DBT)
- 12:05 – 12:20 Presentation - Global Trade and Geopolitical Developments – Karim Dahou, Deputy Director, Global Relations & Cooperation Directorate, OECD
- 12:20 – 13:00 Panel Discussion – Selecting Strategic Projects - Enzo Granzella (Mkango Resources), Jeffrey Court (Tungsten West), Joel Watson (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch
Session 2: Transforming the Future
- 14:00 – 14:10 Presentation - UK Critical Minerals Strategy - Grace Humphries, Head of Critical Minerals (Strategy and Domestic), and Mrug Upadhyay, Senior Policy Advisor, DBT
- 14:10 – 14:20 Presentation - UK Circular Economy Taskforce - Professor Paul Ekins, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ)
- 14:20 – 15:00 Panel Discussion - A Circular Economy Powerhouse: How the UK Can Push Ahead - Thomas Kelly (Ionic Technologies), Sarah Liggins (Ministry of Defense), Mike Hogan (EMR Metal Recycling), Fred White (DEScycle), Christian Peters (Seloxium)
- 15:00 – 15:40 Panel Discussion - Reviving London as a Centre for Finance for Future Minerals - Simon Gardner-Bond (TechMet), Catriona Bell (Standard Chartered), George Hames (UK Export Finance), Maria Yassin-Jah (SLR Consulting), Guy Winter (Fasken)
- 15:40 – 16:00 Break
- 16:00 – 16:40 Panel Discussion - Reimagining the UK Supply Chain: What’s Next? - Spencer Page (Vale Base Metals), Mark Richards (Rio Tinto), Rachel Dolby (Anglo American), Prof. Sarah Gordon (Imperial College London), Jeff Townsend (CMA UK)
- 16:40 – 17:20 Panel Discussion – Identifying Priority Areas for R&D and Innovation - Tom Taylor (Centre for Process Innovation), Ryan Findlay (Pure Alchemi), Frances Tran (XPRIZE), Ewan Lordan (Jaguar Land Rover), Martyn Cherrington (UKRI)
- 17:20 - 17:25 Launching XPRIZE's New Critical Minerals Innovation Competition - David Babson, XPRIZE
- 17:20 - 17:25 Closing Remarks – Jeff Townsend, CMA (UK)
17:30 – 19:30 Drinks Reception sponsored by Bell Geospace, Imerys, and Vale Base Metals
- Address from the Chairs and Officers of the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Critical Minerals - Noah Law MP, Baroness Lindsay Northover, and Perran Moon MP
Side Events
- 11:00 – 12:30: The Strategic Importance of Tin & Tungsten, sponsored by Cornish Metals and Cornwall Resources
- 11:30 – 13:00: A New Silk Road of Resources: Central Asia’s Strategic Value to UK Resources, supported by UK Government (agenda available below)
11:30 –11:35 Welcome remarks from UK Department for Business and Trade
11:35 –11:55 Spotlight: High Impact Cases
- Technical Capabilities of Uzbekistan's Technological Metals Complex (TMK) - Mr Hakki Boz / Mr Han Ilhan
- Khalzan Buregtei – Mongolia’s First Advanced Rare Earth Development - Ms Tsolmon Adiya, CEO of Mongolian National Rare Earth Corporation (MNREC)
11:55 – 12:45 Panel Discussion - Critical Connections: Producers & Users in Dialogue
- Al-Farabi Ydyryshev, Director - Ministry of Industry and Construction, National Centre for Technology Foresight
- TBC, Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Complex
- Christopher Lines, Vice President - Production & Business Compliance, Leonardo
- Richard Crookes, Managing Partner - Lionhead Resources
12:45 – 13:00 Questions from the Audience
13:00 –14:00 Lunch
14:00 – 16:00 B2B Meetings
Important note: All side events are closed-door meetings with monitored guestlists. If you would like to attend any side events, please reach out to events@criticalmineral.org
