London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Sep 16, 2025

Climate change: Will UK mining drive a green revolution?

Climate change: Will UK mining drive a green revolution?

Bumping around in the back of a truck, we descend underground.

Just the headlights guide our way into the gloomy tunnels ahead.

We’re heading into South Crofty mine in Cornwall, where copper and tin have been excavated for hundreds of years.

"This tunnel, we believe, is Elizabethan, so it dates back to the 1500s,” says Richard Williams, CEO of Cornish Metals, as we enter one of the oldest parts of the site.

But access is limited. Much of the mine flooded after South Crofty shut in 1998.

Cornish Metals wants to open up South Crofty again

Now though, it may open again. With the growth of renewable energy and electric vehicles, demand for some minerals is soaring.

"Next-generation solar panels use a compound called tin perovskite; anything with an electric connection, a circuit board has tin in it," explains Mr Williams.

"We'd be contributing to the UK's objective of meeting its carbon neutral target by 2050. And to have that domestic supply on your doorstep, it makes sense to see this mine put back into production."

This borehole descends a kilometre beneath the ground

The rocks of this region hold a metal of great interest, too.

Lithium was discovered in Cornwall about 150 years ago, but back then there was little need for it.

It’s a very different story today.

Lithium is the main component of the batteries that electric cars use. And with the UK's ban on the sale of new diesel and petrol cars that comes into force in 2030, we will need more and more of it.

Half an hour away, we head to a site extracting the metal. It’s about as different as it gets from a deep, dusty mine.

On the edge of an industrial estate, a small borehole has been drilled that reaches about a kilometre beneath the ground.

"Down there are geothermal waters that are circulating naturally within fractures in the rock," explains Lucy Crane, the chief geologist at Cornish Lithium.

Different technologies are being piloted to remove lithium from the geothermal waters

The lithium from the rocks seeps into this underground water, and the brine is pumped back up to the surface.

The company has just started testing different technologies to extract the metal. The idea is to draw out the lithium and then, once it’s removed, inject the water back underground so the process can be repeated.

The energy used to power this process will be from a renewable source - the natural heat from the deep rocks can be converted into electricity, making the process carbon-neutral.

"If we're going to be producing these metals to go into low-carbon technologies, then it's so important that we extract them as responsibly as possible,” Lucy Crane tells me.

Demand for many metals and minerals is rising rapidly as green technologies take off

Currently, lithium is either mined directly from rocks in Australia or taken from salt lakes in South America.

But Cornish Lithium thinks it could eventually supply about a third of the UK's future lithium needs.

"The UK’s demand for lithium is going to be about 75,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate from 2035,” explains Jeremy Wrathall the founder and CEO of Cornish Lithium.

"To put it into perspective, that's about a fifth of total global supply right now. So the UK is going to really need a lot of this stuff."

The World Bank estimates that globally the production of lithium will need to increase by 500% by 2050. Other products essential to the green economy, such as graphite and cobalt, will need a similar boost in supply.

Experts say mining needs to become more sustainable

"The irony of the green revolution is that we - at least for the medium to short term - need a supply of new metals mined out of the ground," says Prof Richard Herrington, head of earth sciences at London’s Natural History Museum.

He believes an urgent conversation is needed to assess where and how these minerals are extracted.

"Ideally, we should work towards a circular economy where we just recycle the metals we use. But at this moment in time, we can't do that. It's just that the growth is too fast, it's too rapid.

"And to hit the target of net zero, we need those technologies now, so I think it's inevitable we will continue mining."

But mining in the future will have to be different, to minimise and repair any environmental damage.

"What we really need to do is make sure that mining can be done in a sustainable way, so that the legacy isn't a scarred landscape, isn't something that is causing problems for the population and for the ecosystem."

A green revolution is pointless, Prof Herrington argues, unless the planet is protected in the process.


Geologist Lucy Crane explains how geothermal water can help provide the lithium for batteries used in electric cars


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
×