UK Mining Conference Returns to Falmouth and Breaks Attendance Record

More than 600 people from 21 countries came to Falmouth this month to talk about what lies beneath Cornwall, and the rest of Britain. The seventh UK Mining Conference returned to the Princess Pavilion on Wednesday 10 and Thursday 11 June, and by the organiser’s own account it outgrew everything that came before it.

The two days pulled together mineral explorers, mine operators, specialist manufacturers, investors, academics, government departments and trade associations. The questions on the table were big ones. How can the UK meet its own demand for critical minerals during a period of economic uncertainty and geopolitical turbulence? What does the geology under our feet have to do with artificial intelligence? And how do you get young people excited about earth sciences in the first place?

📷Perran Moon MP and Jayne Kirkham MP present Frances Wall OBE with her award - Image Credit Stephen Woodcock

Cornish companies front and centre

Delegates heard updates from companies prospecting for and extracting the metals and minerals seen as critical to Britain’s industrial future. That list ran from Anglo American in North Yorkshire and Northern Lithium in County Durham to the Vale Clydach Refinery in Wales, with Aberdeen Minerals, Argyll Metals and Winshear Metals Corp representing Scotland.

The South West was well represented. Cornish Lithium, Cornish Metals, Cornish Tin & Lithium, Cornwall Resources and Tamar Minerals all featured. Between them, the companies present are working on cobalt, copper, lithium, nickel, polyhalite, tin, tungsten and even gold.

📷Dennis Rowland accepts his award from Cardew Group's Robin Walker - Image Credit Stephen Woodcock

Satellite events across the town

The conference spilled out into a series of specialist events at venues around Falmouth. A Geothermal Forum drew 167 attendees, among them 52 A-level students, to look at how the UK might develop geothermal as a low-carbon source of power and heat. A Geologists’ Workshop put real-world geological problem-solving in front of 72 participants. A similar number turned up to the first Investors’ Congress, set up to talk through how, when and why to back mining projects in the UK.

In total the organisers staged 12 events across six venues.

“This year’s UK Mining Conference attracted 610 attendees who represented 295 organisations from 21 countries across the globe, which far exceeded previous records as well as expectations,” said Jay One Events’ Managing Director, Jane Isaacs. She added that the team worked with more than 30 local suppliers to put it all together.

📷Dom Barraclough and Paul Freeman accept their award from Knight Piesold's David Elmer and Lucy Fisher - Image Credit Stephen Woo

The case for investment

The mood from the industry was that the opportunity is huge and the finance is hard to come by.

“From geological features such as the Cornubian Granite Batholith that underlies much of Cornwall and Devon to the Weardale Granite beneath County Durham, and the Arthrath Intrusion in Scotland, the country’s natural capital presents an economic opportunity of mammoth proportions, yet it remains exceptionally challenging to raise finance for critical minerals projects in the UK,” said Cornish Lithium’s Founder and Executive Chairman, Jeremy Wrathall.

Perran Moon, MP for Camborne, Redruth and Hayle, used his closing remarks to point at what the sector means locally. “Here in Cornwall, we have never lost our pride in the critical minerals sector but the resurgence of mining is driving back hope into our communities,” he said. Perran argued it was about more than jobs, pointing to infrastructure and wider improvements, and called for a change in investors’ attitude to risk so that Cornwall could punch above its weight.

📷Jeremy Wrathall from Cornish Lithium accepts Dai Moseley's award from MC Kirk Adams - Image Credit Stephen Woodcock

The award winners

A Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony at the Princess Pavilion closed proceedings. The winners were:

• Exploration Discovery of the Year — Cornwall Resources’ Exploration Manager, Rowan Thorne, for the Redmoor Tungsten Project
• Rising Star in the Mining Sector — Cornish Tin & Lithium’s Exploration Manager, Ryan Hichens
• Best Innovation in Mining — Cornish Lithium’s Process Manager, Dai Moseley, for the Trelavour Lithium Project Demonstration Plant
• ESG and Outstanding Community Outreach — Dom Barraclough of Finch Consulting and Paul Freeman, a former manager of Komatsu Mining Corp, for cycling 1,100 miles from Aberdeen Minerals in Scotland to the conference in Cornwall and raising more than £11k for Great Ormond Street Hospital
• Finance Deal of the Year — Cornwall Resources’ Managing Director, Dennis Rowland
• Lifetime Achievement Award — Camborne School of Mines’ Professor of Applied Mineralogy, Frances Wall OBE

The 2027 UK Mining Conference is already booked in for Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 June.

📷Ryan Hichens accepts his award from MC Kirk Adams - Image Credit Stephen Woodcock

📷Rob Bridgman from Gowling WLG and MC Kirk Adams present Rowan Thorne with his award - Image Credit Stephen Woodcock

📷Jayne Kirkham MP with Aymone Schendel and Lucy Crane from Women in Mining UK - Image Credit Stephen Woodcock

📷Cornish Lithium and UK Mining Conference Founder, Jeremy Wrathall, addresses delegates - Credit: Stephen Woodcock