Managing the future of critical minerals in the UK

Ecological economics pays a lot of attention to the fundamental flow of materials and impacts that underpin economic activities. So-called critical minerals sit at the centre of some of the biggest questions facing modern societies: the energy transition, industrial strategy, national security, and environmental sustainability. For decades, countries like the UK largely offshored the environmental and social costs of extraction while benefiting from the technologies and prosperity those supply chains enabled. But as geopolitical tensions rise and demand for batteries, renewables, AI infrastructure, and advanced manufacturing accelerates, the UK is once again confronting the material foundations of its economy — and with that comes difficult questions about mining, reindustrialisation, environmental tradeoffs, and what a just transition actually means for communities that have already lived through industrial decline. We’re joined by geographer Jamie Hinch and ecologist Dr Sarah Raymond from the University of Oxford to explore not just the economics or geopolitics of these materials, but the deeper human stories, political tensions, and competing visions of the future that surround them. Hosted by Sophus zu Ermgassen. Edited by Aidan Knox. Episode picture by Matthew de Livera.