The United Kingdom and the United States have formalised a new partnership aimed at strengthening cooperation on critical minerals.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in Washington, DC, by UK Foreign Office Minister Seema Malhotra and US Under Secretary of State Jacob Helberg.
The deal is positioned as a key milestone in both nations’ strategic efforts to secure resilient and sustainable supply chains amid growing global competition for these essential materials.
The agreement “aims to boost investment in UK projects and fortify supply chains that are essential for products such as smartphones and refrigerators”.
Backed by up to £50 million in new funding, the partnership supports the objectives of the UK’s Critical Minerals Strategy, which pledges to reduce reliance on any single country for more than 60 per cent of critical mineral imports by 2035.
UK Industry Minister Chris McDonald emphasised the importance of the collaboration, saying: “We need critical minerals for everything — from the phones we use to the cars we drive.
“This partnership with the US will boost minerals projects across Britain and drive new investment into businesses.
“Our Critical Minerals Strategy stressed the importance of forming international partnerships to diversify our supplies of minerals, and this signing does exactly that.”
The MoU builds upon existing UK agreements with countries such as Australia and Canada, further expanding a network of cooperation designed to diversify and stabilise mineral supply lines.
Currently, the UK’s critical minerals sector contributes around £1.79 billion (AU$3.4 billion) to the economy and supports more than 50,000 jobs, with over 50 projects underway to extract, refine, and process key resources domestically.
According to the terms of the deal, the two governments will coordinate on economic policy tools and joint investments that foster “diverse and equitable markets for critical minerals”.
The goals include strengthening supply chain resilience through improved mining, separation, and processing capabilities, as well as enhancing transparency and accountability in global mineral markets.
An important element of the agreement involves efforts to streamline permitting processes, making it easier for new mining and processing projects to proceed.
Both nations also committed to working together to curb non-market practices that can distort pricing and disrupt fair competition.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Malhotra described the MoU as a forward-looking step toward greater economic and environmental security for both countries.
“As demand for critical minerals around the world continues to rise, this MoU with the US underscores our commitment to working as close allies to build resilient, diversified global supply chains,” she said.
“This is an important step in safeguarding long‑term economic growth at home and protecting the UK’s interests around the world.”
