Minerals: a closer look
Focus on the CBI's work with minerals
Living with Minerals 4: Shaping UK minerals policy
Three hundred delegates at the CBI Minerals Group’s Living with Minerals 4 conference, held in November in London, heard that the UK needs a strategic policy framework for minerals.
The debates covered topics ranging from supply to planning pressures, with the CBI director-general, John Cridland, above, stating that without a secure mineral supply the current focus on infrastructure as a route to growth would not be possible.
Michael Lynch-Bell, the global transaction leader at Ernst & Young, discussed the prevalence of important minerals in politically unstable countries, and revealed how some nations were now stockpiling supplies.
Professor David Manning, of Newcastle University, asked delegates to consider the importance of phosphate minerals for fertilisers and the impact on food supplies across the world should access become constrained.
Communities and local government minister Bob Neill said the government was aware of the sector’s concerns and that it would take them into account in its review of the planning system. The conference also debated the key findings of the latest round of work by the UK Minerals forum.
View the presentations here:
Living with Minerals - Shaping UK minerals policy - Part 1
Living with Minerals - Shaping UK minerals policy - Part 2
Living with Minerals - Shaping UK minerals policy - Part 3
Living with Minerals - Shaping UK minerals policy - Part 4
Living with Minerals - Shaping UK minerals policy - Part 5
CBIMG guide for the determination of 'non-extractive waste' status of soils and overburden in England and Wales
The CBIMG has published a revised version of the guide first published in July 2010 prepared in discussion with the Environment Agency to provide mineral operators with a practical means of deciding whether certain materials such as soils and overburden arising in the course of mineral extraction and processing operations are extractive waste. The revision principally updates the position regarding fine grained material which is separated from process water by settlement under gravity in a natural or engineered structure.
Minerals and Historic Environment Forum for England
The CBIMG is a member of the Minerals and Historic Forum set up jointly with English Heritage, other mineral sector associations, leading organisations involved with the historic environment and mineral planning authorities. The Forum provides a vehicle for regular dialogue at national level between the historic environment, minerals industry and planning
The Forum published Minerals Extraction and Archaeology: A Practice Guide. The Guide has been prepared as an aid to planning authorities, mineral planners, mineral operators, archaeologists and consultants.
UK Minerals Forum
The UK Minerals Forum was set up and is funded by the CBI Minerals Group. It draws together key stakeholders to raise awareness of the issues and identify potential solutions relating to the sustainable use of indigenous UK minerals
The forum has a wide range of members and observers embracing the industry, mineral planners, key government departments, the devolved administrations, government agencies and environmental organisations. The continued high level of commitment of its members since its inception in 2006 is testament to its value. For more details, visit the UKMF website. The key findings of three working groups set up by the Forum were debated at the Living with Minerals 4 conference held in November 2011.
The UK Minerals Forum working group has produced three reports - on planning skills; communities and communications; and distributing minerals to future markets.
