Key Takeaways
- 01 Capital discipline is reshaping commodity supply curves into 2026.
- 02 AI infrastructure capex is becoming a primary macro variable.
- 03 Central bank policy across AU, CA and US is converging on neutral.
Key Insights
- £20M Magnet Hub is the largest single bet in the package. Rare earth magnets sit at the centre of EVs, wind turbines, and defence systems
- HyProMag’s Birmingham plant produced 9.2 tonnes of recycled NdFeB alloy by April 2026. The Magnet Hub builds on this base
- G7 Évian summit set a 2030 deadline for the 60% supplier cap, five years ahead of Vision 2035’s own timeline
- Demand Aggregation Platform pools UK buyer demand, helping companies get better supply deals and bring in private investment
- DEScycle is close to finishing a world-first e-waste facility at Teesside, turning electronic waste into a domestic mining source
The UK government has set aside £50 million to secure its supply of critical minerals. The money will go toward extraction, processing, and recycling projects. China holds most of the world’s rare earth supply, and the UK is now pushing to reduce that dependence.
UK Rolls Out £50M Critical Minerals Funding Programme
Industry Minister Chris McDonald launched the programme on 22 June 2026. He visited the Wilton Centre in Teesside to mark the occasion. The centre is one of Europe’s largest research and development campuses. It hosts Seloxium and DEScycle, two firms at the forefront of UK critical minerals processing and metal recycling.
Chris McDonald, the British Labour Party politician
This adds to more than £200 million the UK has already invested in the sector, under the overall UK Critical Minerals Strategy 2035, released in November 2025. This strategy – “Vision 2035” – sets legally binding commitments for how much of our critical mineral requirements can be supplied from home, from recycling and through different suppliers.
“Critical minerals are essential to our national security”, said the minister for industry Chris McDonald “This targeted investment will allow the UK’s innovative firms to scale up domestic production to help create jobs and opportunities in communities up and down the country and ensure more secure supply chains”.
Jeff Townsend, Founder of the Critical Minerals Association, added: “As attention turns from policy development to delivery, it is encouraging to see the £50 million grant programme being used to accelerate strategically important UK projects as they reach maturity.”
The Three Pillars of the £50 Million Programme
The £50 million is split across three distinct funding pillars. Each pillar targets a different part of the supply chain. Together, they form the delivery structure of the UK critical minerals strategy 2035.
| Pillar | Funding | Purpose |
| Magnet Hub | £20 million | Rare earth magnet manufacturing, testing, skills |
| Critical Minerals Accelerator | £25 million | Extraction, processing, recycling projects |
| Demand Aggregation Platform | Up to £5 million | Pool demand, attract investment, secure supply |
The Magnet Hub will create a nationally recognised centre of excellence. It will connect businesses with access to specialist equipment, whilst creating the skilled workforce required to support long-term industry development. The Critical Minerals Accelerator will scale projects across the UK and facilitate significant job creation in new regions.
The Demand Aggregation Platform is the smallest allocation but carries real strategic weight. It will help industry and government build a clearer picture of UK mineral demand. It will also support supply agreements and help bring in private capital more efficiently.
Vision 2035: What the UK Critical Minerals Strategy Actually Targets
The UK critical minerals strategy 2035 outlines three statutory commitments. By 2035, less than 60 per cent of any critical mineral shall be sourced from any one country.
The UK must be supplied with at least 10 per cent of annual demand from UK production, with another 20 per cent sourced from recycling. Collectively, these would represent a fivefold increase in the share of UK production and recycling to 30 per cent from an average of about 6% in recent years.
The strategy also includes the target for producing at least 50,000 tonnes of lithium from UK sites by 2035; this will primarily draw from Europe’s largest known lithium deposit in Cornwall. Other domestic assets include one of the world’s largest tungsten sources, one of Europe’s largest nickel refineries in Clydach, Swansea, and the only Western source of rare earth alloys used in wind turbines and F-35 fighter jets.
Demand figures make the case plain. Annual UK copper demand is set to almost double by 2035. Demand for lithium is projected to rise by 1,100% over the same period. Against that backdrop, sourcing 6% of needs domestically is not a strategy. It is a vulnerability.
UK’s First Commercial Rare Earth Magnet Plant in 25 Years
Britain’s first commercial rare earth magnet plant in 25 years opened in January 2026. The facility sits at Tyseley Energy Park in Birmingham. It is run by HyProMag, a University of Birmingham spinout owned by Maginito, a subsidiary of Mkango Resources.
The plant uses Hydrogen Processing of Magnet Scrap technology to pull out and recycle rare earth magnets from old equipment. By April 2026, it had produced 9.2 tonnes of recycled NdFeB alloy powder. Siemens used HyProMag’s recycled magnets in a SIMOTICS servomotor rotor shown at Hannover Messe 2026. Samples have gone to over 20 potential customers across motors, medical devices, and audio products.
The plant can recover over 400kg of rare earth alloy per batch. It runs at 100 tonnes per year on a single shift, scaling to more than 300 tonnes on multiple shifts. A planned expansion toward 1,000 tonnes per year is under review.
The Magnet Hub does not replace this private-sector base. It is designed to work alongside it by giving smaller firms access to shared resources and training they could not build on their own.
China’s Grip and Why the UK Can No Longer Wait
Approximately 70% of the world’s mining for critical rare earths is conducted in China, as is more than 90% of their purification, so Beijing would easily be able to choke off supply at will. Western countries have become acutely aware of how quickly their global supply chains can seize up as they learned from the coronavirus and the Ukraine war.
The UK critical minerals strategy 2035 has this problem in its crosshairs, as the critical mineral aspect of the G7 via June summit earlier in June produced an accord to have no single non-G7 provider account for more than 60% of critical minerals imports by 2030, even earlier than the UK benchmark of 2035.
DEScycle’s Fred White, speaking at the Teesside launch, said: “Our technology is reshaping how the UK views e-waste, transforming its treatment into a sovereign form of urban mining. Teesside’s world-leading industrial heritage and skilled workforce make it the ideal location for our facility.”
The wider public finance base adds weight to the £50 million headline. The National Wealth Fund carries £27.8 billion in financial capacity. DRIVE35 supports research and investment in vehicle electrification. Both programmes already backed Green Lithium and Altilium before this announcement. The Network Charging Compensation Scheme relief is also being raised from 60% to 90% from 2026, cutting electricity costs for around 500 energy-intensive businesses by £7 to £10 per megawatt hour.
How the UK Compares to Its Allies
The UK’s position in processing and recycling is strong. The gap in overall spending compared to allies is harder to ignore.
- United States – Almost US$1 billion for the program as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, CHIPS Act, and Department of Energy. The Pentagon put forward US$540 million toward rare earths.
- Canada – Close to C$3.8 billion from the federal government, including a C$1.5 billion fund dedicated to critical mineral infrastructure in six areas.
- UK: £50 million new fund, backed by the National Wealth Fund’s £27.8 billion capacity and over £200 million previously committed.
The UK is not trying to match those numbers pound for pound. Instead, the UK’s critical minerals strategy to 2035 relies on its refining know-how, recycling tech, the London Metal Exchange’s price-fixing ability and collaborative partnerships via the G7 and the Minerals Security Partnership. Vale Base Metals’ Clydach Nickel Refinery, operated for almost 125 years, also cheered the investment. The company called for a policy environment that supports the UK’s midstream sector, the part of the supply chain where Britain holds the clearest edge.
FAQs
- What is the UK critical minerals strategy 2035?
It is the government’s 10-year Vision 2035 plan, published in November 2025. It aims to source 10% of mineral demand domestically, 20% through recycling, and keep any single-country supply below 60% by 2035. - What did the UK announce on 22 June 2026?
The government launched a £50 million Critical Minerals fund at the Wilton Centre in Teesside. The money covers three areas: a Magnet Hub, a Critical Minerals Accelerator, and a Demand Aggregation Platform. - What is HyProMag and why does it matter?
HyProMag runs Britain’s only commercial rare earth magnet plant in Birmingham. It recycles old magnets using hydrogen-based technology. By April 2026, it had supplied recycled magnets to Siemens and over 20 other potential customers. - Why does China’s role make this strategy necessary?
China controls 70% of global rare earth mining and 90% of refining. The UK currently meets only about 6% of its critical mineral needs at home. That leaves supply chains open to export restrictions and price shocks from a single foreign source.
Disclaimer: The article above draws on both publicly sourced information from both the UK government and industry and confirmed press releases and press statements dated 22nd June 2026. The article above is intended for information purposes only, not investment advice and is not financial, or legal advice, nor is the funding information contained herein with regard to grant amounts, targets or programmes final; this is liable to change on the part of the Department for Business and Trade. The reader is to refer to their own business and investment decision processes concerning UK critical minerals against the available public UK Government material or their advisers.
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About the author
Plamen Vasilev
Plamen Vasilev is a writer and language specialist with over 6 years of experience developing informative and engaging content across multiple industries. He combines strong research skills with a deep understanding of finance, mining, technology, and business topics to create well-crafted articles that connect with readers.
