There has been a lot of interest in both the press and social media about the pros and cons of Lithium mining in Kernow.
There is still much debate whether Lithium, which is thought to be abundant in Kernow, can be extracted in an efficient and economic way. Its supporters claim that it will bring industry and skilled jobs and revenue into Kernow and its detractors claim that much of the revenue will leave Kernow and mining will cause environmental damage. Both of these arguments have some merit. I will leave it to others with greater knowledge to argue these points. The question I ask myself is if Lithium can be extracted could it be very damaging to the campaign for greater recognition of Cornish identity or a Cornish assembly?
It has been predicted by 2030 the UK will need 80,000 tonnes of Lithium a year to meet UK industrial needs. Kernow is rich in many minerals and Lithium is one of them with potentially the largest deposits in Europe.
There are a number of test sites examining extracting Lithium either from the mineral-rich groundwaters that circulate beneath the surface of Kernow or from drilling and crushing granite to find and separate the Lithium micas. The mining companies involved in these sites are planning to be in production by 2025-2026. It is predicted that mining in Kernow could potentially produce nearly 40% of the UK’s need but with new technologies being developed in findinding and processing of Lithium this yield could be far higher.
With the global shortage of Lithium and its pressing need not only for batteries for pacemakers and mobile phones to electric cars but its use in nuclear fusion and air purification and heat -resistant glass,this could, if it happens make Kernow a very important place both strategically and financially.
A parliamentary committee tasked with looking at what metals would be important to the UK in the near future published a report on the 4 of May 2011 called the Science and Technology committee fifth report. Strategically important metals.
Page 2 of the report states.
What are strategically important metals?
“ Of the 94 naturally occurring elements 72 are metals and, since the Bronze Age, metals have been integral to the lives of people living in the UK. Today society depends on metals for nearly everything: from bulk metals, such as iron for construction and copper for delivering electricity, to rarer, specialist metals that are used for their, often unique, properties in high technology applications. For example, cobalt is the “base of most medical implants”;[7] indium is used to make clear transistors for use in touch screens and liquid crystal displays;[8] neodymium is alloyed with iron and boron to make high strength magnets essential for modern electric motors and wind turbines;[9] lithium is the key component in modern batteries;[10]”
Further down on page 2
“The Geological Society of London stated that in defining what is strategically important, “economic importance is not the only factor—environmental protection, national security and other benefits may also be significant”.
But it is not just Lithium that is vital for the UK’s stability,look at the government report published on the 13 March 2023: Resilience for the Future:The UK’s Critical Mineral Strategy.
The forward to the report claims:
“ As technology evolves faster than ever, we become more and more reliant on a new cohort of minerals. We are moving to a world powered by critical minerals: we need lithium, cobalt and graphite to make batteries for electric cars; silicon and tin for our electronics; rare earth elements for electric cars and wind turbines..”
In the chapter named What is a critical mineral? It states:
“To support the launch of this strategy, BGS has carried out its first criticality assessment and, according to economic vulnerability and supply risk, has defined and cohort of minerals with high criticality for the UK
- Bismuth
- Cobalt
- Gallium
- Graphite
- Indium
- Lithium
- Magnesium
- Niobium
- Palladium
- Platinum
- Rare Earth Elements
- Silicon
- Tantalum
- Tellurium
- Tin
- Tungsten
- Vanadium.”
Where in the UK could some of these critical minerals be found ?
Luckily the Department for Business and Trade have a plan and they are busy drumming up overseas investment in Kernow, the departments website states:
“ As the demand for clean energy technologies continues to grow, the requirement for minerals such as lithium and cobalt could increase by nearly 500%, by 2050.
Cornwall has a long and successful history of mining and a rich mineral endowment. It offers investment opportunities in the exploration and extraction of many commodities required for the manufacture of clean energy solutions.”
And
“Cornwall’s mining district has an abundance of metal and mineral deposits that are sizable, accessible and supported by a thriving mining service and supply chain. These technology and base metals found in Cornwall include copper, tin, lithium, cobalt, indium, zinc, tungsten and silver.
The region offers opportunities for investment in extraction of these metals, and within associated supply chain development.”
It’s interesting how many of the minerals the government are claiming are highly critical for the UK appear as abundant in Kernow according to the Department of Business and Trade.
Much of the above is still in the speculative stages but the government is taking it very seriously,though if you really want to see which way the wind is blowing follow the financial markets and they are seeing that investing in mining in Kernow could be a very profitable venture.
But where does all this leave the campaign for a meaningful devolution of power to a Cornish assembly?
My view is that if all this comes to pass and we carry on with the same Cornwall council setup, the Conservatives or possibly Labour or the Lib Dems running the council then the campaign for a Cornish assembly would be finished for at least the next 20 years.
Why 20 years?
How likely is it that a government will look at an area of the UK that could be mined for between 20 to 40 years that has the possibility of generating a lot of wealth through mining, that has a number of metals that it regards as strategically important to the future of the UK in a very uncertain world and think that the best way to manage this is to hand it to a Cornish assembly that they may be able to control? I would think this very unlikely.
But maybe I’m a little bit too pessimistic, there are after all two full council elections in the next seven years and maybe mineral mining could be the base to build a chance to get a Cornish assembly by first getting a Cornish Cornwall council elected.
Back in 1974 when oil production in the North Sea was starting the SNP came up with the now famous campaign “ It’s Scotland’s Oil”. The campaign was hugely successful with the two general elections that year, the SNP returned 11 MP’s and took 22% of the vote. A number of opposition MP’s at the time put the SNP’s success to “It’s Scotland’s oil” slogan.
If you put a similar slogan to people in Kernow asking should Westminster manage the mineral wealth of Kernow or would they support a Cornish party committed to creating a Cornish assembly that would use the financial windfall to benefit the people of Kernow,how many people would then think of voting for Mebyon Kernow?
The coming years in Kernow are going to be an interesting time to see whether the predicted mineral gold rush happens and whether Mebyon Kernow comes out as one of the winners.
KernowCalling 