The United Kingdom has launched a sweeping critical-minerals strategy aimed at reducing its reliance on China and other dominant suppliers, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer describing the initiative as essential to national security and modern industry.

The plan includes a £50 million investment to support domestic projects in tungsten and lithium mining in Cornwall, home to Europe’s largest lithium deposits.

Under the new framework, the government has set a target that by 2035 no more than 60 per cent of any one critical mineral is sourced from a single partner country.

Currently the UK meets only six per cent of its critical-minerals demand domestically.

The plan also seeks to have at least 10 per cent of the UK’s demand met via domestic production and a further 20 per cent via recycling.

Key materials identified include lithium, nickel, tungsten and rare-earth elements, all of which underpin sectors from electric vehicles and data-centres to defence systems.

The strategy responds to global supply-shock risks, particularly China’s command of around 70 per cent of rare-earth mining and up to 90 per cent of refining.

As part of the drive, the UK earlier this year secured a minerals-cooperation deal with Saudi Arabia to diversify overseas supply options.

Ministers said the strategy would accelerate domestic extraction and refining capacity and embrace recycling to build resilience.

Industry analysts note, however, that full implementation will require hundreds of millions of pounds of investment, and projects may take years to reach scale.

The government emphasized that the plan would support efforts to reduce living costs and enhance industrial competitiveness, by securing materials vital for green technologies and high-value manufacturing.

With Britain positioned to move quickly, the strategy marks a deliberate shift from dependency towards strategic autonomy in the raw-material domain.