UK 2024 Criticality Assessment

Following a study by the UK Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre (CMIC), commissioned by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and hosted at the British Geological Survey (BGS), Anglesey Mining plc (AIM:AYM), is pleased to announce that Zinc (Zn) has now been added to the UK Critical Minerals List. The report can be accessed via the following link:

Anglesey considers the classification of zinc as a critical mineral to be a significant positive step for the importance of its Parys Mountain resource in Anglesey, North Wales. The current declared resources at Parys Mountain include over 200,000 tonnes of contained zinc along with other minerals including copper, silver, gold and lead, as can be seen in the following table:

Parys Mountain Resources, Combined March 2023 and January 2021

Source: Parys Mountain Resource Update notification released by Anglesey on 3 April 2023 (link)

Copper (Cu) is currently on the critical minerals lists in China, USA, Canada, India, Japan and South Korea. Although not meeting their normal thresholds, it has been added this year to the Australian Critical Minerals list and has been listed on the EU critical minerals list as a “strategic mineral.” Copper is not at present on the UK Critical Minerals List; however, the report recognises (Section 4.2) that the latest Criticality Assessment represents the current picture of demand and supply risk based on data for 2018 to 2022. The report also suggests that new technologies are emerging which will lead to increasing demand for numerous materials which are already listed as critical, but also many that are not, such as Cu, Ag, Cr, Mo etc.

Section 4.3.1 involves a detailed analysis of the increasing demand for copper linked to emerging technologies and carbon net zero targets versus the possible supply chain risks in being able to increase mining output to meet the higher demand. Section 4.3.1 ends with the comment “It is simply reasonable to acknowledge that, although Cu remains below the criticality threshold at present, this may change in the near future.”

Rob Marsden, CEO of Anglesey Mining, commented: “Whilst our recent focus at Parys Mountain has been to push forward with the planning and permitting for the new mining project, it is very encouraging to note that at the same time a number of the minerals making up our resource are becoming more widely recognised as being of major importance to emerging technologies and the drive for net carbon zero. We are hopeful that an increase in demand for those minerals will make the project more attractive to investors and will also provide stable commodity prices to support our business plan. The 4th annual Critical Minerals Conference, which took place on the 2nd of December in London, was very well attended and afforded me the opportunity to discuss with the MPs present the importance of the Parys Mountain deposit”