Five research partnerships will study ways to:
- clean up contaminated mine water
- develop new geological tools for extracting rare earth minerals, vital for magnets
- identify mineral-rich volcanic deposits
- drive sustainable mining practices by co-extracting critical minerals with gold and copper
- make critical mineral supply chains recyclable and more secure
Why this matters
This matters because:
- critical minerals are raw materials essential for modern technologies, including electronics, renewable energy and defense systems
- global demand and international competition for technology-critical mineral resources is expected to quadruple by 2040
- ensuring responsible access to these minerals is vital for national security, clean energy and maintaining technological competitiveness
Key area of investment
Research into critical minerals is a key area of investment for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) which includes:
- lithium for smartphones
- gallium for semi-conductors and solar panels
- cobalt for electronics
The five research partnerships announced today will receive a share of the £1 million International Science Partnerships Fund award through the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).
Enabling international collaborations
These partnerships expand five Alliance Missions grants funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), which is receiving approximately $250,000 Canadian dollars (CAD) of supplementary funding to enable the international collaborations.
In total, an investment of over $4 million CAD is being made to these successful projects.
This partnership between the UK and Canada follows their landmark agreement which was signed in March 2023 to cooperate on critical minerals.
See the UK and Canada critical minerals dialogue press release.
Driving sustainability of the sector
Researchers will study ways to reduce mining’s environmental footprint and enhance efficiency across critical mineral value chains, from exploration to recycling.
It also seeks to build a critical minerals circular economy, minimising reliance on traditional extraction methods, for example by:
- mine reclamation
- critical mineral recycling
- reprocessing of residual mining waste
Research areas
Cleaning up contaminated mine water
This project aims to clean up contaminated mine water using a combination of calcium silicate (CS) and microalgae.
CS sequesters heavy metals like cobalt, nickel and copper, while microalgae help with long-term water remediation.
This approach is low-cost, scalable and environmentally friendly, removing harmful dissolved metals and recovering them for reuse.
Making permanent magnets
To meet net zero goals, this project will develop new geological models and exploration tools for rare earth element (REE) deposits in Saskatchewan, Canada.
REE are crucial for making permanent magnets in wind turbines and electric vehicles.
The research will help diversify the REE supply chain and ensure high environmental standards.
Metals in volcanic areas
This project studies the processes that make some regions rich in volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits, which are rich sources of:
- copper
- zinc
- lead
- silver
- gold
The research aims to improve exploration and mining efficiency, focusing on the UK, Ireland, and Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
Co-extracting gold and copper plus critical minerals
This project aims to understand how critical metals like tellurium, bismuth, antimony and platinum group metals can be efficiently extracted as by-products from copper and gold deposits in British Columbia, Canada.
The research will help improve extraction techniques, ensuring a stable supply and minimising environmental impact.
Boosting supply chains
Critical Minerals for Resilience and Sustainability (MINERS) aims to enhance the resilience and sustainability of critical minerals supply chains between the UK and Canada.
The project will identify whether there is an opportunity to reuse critical minerals are part of a circular economy and define policy levers to move away from unsustainable practices.
Using supply chain modelling, it will map current flows of critical minerals and assess resilience to shocks.
How this research will benefit the UK and Canada
These studies will support closer collaboration between Canada and the UK and boost economic growth and job creation.
They will also protect national security interests by strengthening supply chains for critical minerals and reduce the environmental impact of mining.
Accelerating innovation
Professor Alejandro Adem, President of NSERC, said:
International partnerships like this one are essential to tackling global challenges such as critical mineral security.
By combining Canada’s expertise with the UK’s, we can accelerate innovation and advance sustainable solutions to drive economic growth, resilience, and environmental responsibility.
Economic growth
Professor Louise Heathwaite, Executive Chair of NERC, said:
We currently rely on critical minerals for our cars, our phones, our energy, our defence and many more areas of life.
The new partnerships announced today will help drive new technologies, advance sustainable mining and support research and innovation outcomes that enable economic growth.
It will also build on our key partnership with Canada, enhancing collaboration, coordination, and sharing our knowledge and skills in this key area of research.
Further information
Current UKRI-funded investments on critical minerals
NERC Centre for Doctoral Training: mineral resources for energy transition
TARGET: Training and Research Group for Energy Transition Mineral Resources
Met4Tech: The Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Centre in Technology Metals
UK centres to play vital role in boosting modern green industries
UK supply chains get safeguarding boost
Further details of the projects announced today
A Combined Geochemical and Biosorption Tool for Mine Water Clean-Up and Valorisation
Andrea Hamilton, University of Strathclyde, UK
John Ashley Scott, Laurentian University, Canada
Exploration and Geomodels for Rare Earth Element Pegmatite Targets
Eimear Deady, Alicja Lacinska, Holly Elliott, Monty Pearson, Nick Roberts, Richard Shaw, Victoria Loving, British Geological Survey, UK
Camille Partin, University of Saskatchewan, Canada
Metal Fertility and Transport in Volcanic-Hosted Hydrothermal Systems
Steven Hollis, The University of Edinburgh, UK
Hannah Grant, Mark Cooper, British Geological Survey, UK
Stephen Piercey, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada
Katie McFall, University College London, UK
Towards ‘Critical Geometallurgy’ of Post-Subduction Mineral Resources
Katie McFall, Emma Humphreys-Williams, Frances Cooper, University College London, UK Kyle Larson, The University of British Columbia, Canada
Dan Smith, University of Leicester, UK
MINERS
Teresa Domenech, Paul Ekins, Xavier Lemaire, University College London, UK
Gavin Mudd, British Geological Survey, UK
Steven Young, University of Waterloo, Canada
Further information
Read the UK Canada joint statement on 15 June 2025.
The statement agreed joint initiatives, aimed at strengthening economic growth and prosperity, and enhancing collective security and defence. This included joint investments in critical minerals.
Resilience for the Future: The UK’s Critical Minerals Strategy
These minerals are designated critical due to their importance and the potential for disruption of supply.
The UK Critical Minerals Refresh published in March 2023 sets out UK government ambitions to improve the resilience of critical minerals supply chains.