Brave new world

UK government's effort to create a green economy are putting strain on the supply of strategic metals to the domestic market. The UK has always relied upon the global market for supply, with reasonable reliability and economic costs. Although the market dictates the price of a commodity, it does not necessarily control the costs. Many metals and mineral commodities are not traded on the LME market. These are usually sold direct to the consumer such as iron ore or low-cost industrial minerals. Then, there are strategic metals, which perform advanced functions in applications. One of the reasons of the failure of UK projects is the amount of planning rules at multiple levels, which can take so long to be met that the opportunity may be missed. After the global financial crisis between the third quarter of 2008 and the last quarter of 2009, no new mining issues were reported on the London Stock Exchange AIM board. The UK government has to fulfil its objectives if it wants to create a green economy.