Future Is Mine CIC

📢𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝗼𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗴𝗮𝗽 📢 A collaboration to bring critical minerals learning resources into UK schools has been awarded funding by the Department for Business and Trade. The joint project between Future Is Mine CIC and Minerals Matter, with industry support from SLR Consulting, will deliver teaching resources on critical minerals supply chains to UK schools from April 2025. Critical minerals are essential ingredients in our modern lives and central to economic growth. They are found in everything from our smartphones and laptops, to our cars, airplanes and clean energy technologies. Building resilient critical mineral supply chains in the UK is threatened by looming skills gaps, however, with the number of young people choosing to study geosciences in the UK falling steadily over the past decade. “The role of critical minerals in the advancement of society cannot be overstated, and these materials will only grow in importance as we develop more sustainable industries,” comments Jessica Roberts, Co-Founder of Future Is Mine. “Awareness of geosciences and mining is generally low. This funding from the Department for Business & Trade enables us to bring fantastic resources into schools and showcase the role critical minerals play in building a more sustainable world.” “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to share these carefully resourced sessions developed in partnership with geoscience specialists,” Loren Crisp, Co-Founder of Future Is Mine, comments. “The activities support teachers to ensure pupils develop a greater depth of understanding in this field and learn about the wealth of career opportunities that they may not be aware of.” Ben Lepley of SLR Consulting adds: “This exciting opportunity allows us to build on great work done by the European Union EIT RawMaterials’ RISBriefcase of Mineral Applications project that ran for several years. Our project aims to take this concept and grow a network of resources across the UK and inspire future generations to get involved in this essential industry required for the energy transition.” “Minerals Matter are delighted to be supporting this project, which will provide valuable resources for our volunteer ambassadors to use when engaging with young people in education settings. It is so important to share information about the critical nature of the industry with our future workforce, and these resources will provide an interactive way to do this,” comments Hannah Higley, Future Careers Manager at Minerals Matter. The critical minerals resources will be available to schools from April 2025. For more information or to enquire about using these resources in your school, contact info@futureismine.co.uk and info@minerals-matter.co.uk #Outreach #CriticalMinerals #Education #SkillsGap 

In 2024, our Somerset build made incredible strides forward. Last year marked a period of amazing progress on our journey to establish the UK’s largest battery cell manufacturing facility. From repurposing materials sustainably to installing vital infrastructure, our site is quickly taking shape as a world-class facility. Our teams worked tirelessly to prepare the site, completing key groundwork that will serve as the foundation for a greener future. From laying strong foundations to creating spaces for our teams to collaborate on-site, every milestone represents a commitment to innovation, sustainability, and teamwork. As we continue to build, each achievement brings us closer to our goal of powering future generations with clean, green energy solutions. Watch the video to see our incredible progress and the milestones we’ve achieved so far!

Looking for #geoscience outreach games? The QUARTETnary card game is about the geological timescale, for ages 8 and up.

Time is running out! There is less than two weeks left to enter our 2025 Schools Geology Challenge. Open to all students aged 16-18 studying geology, geography or science, we want to see your creativity and interest in geoscience. To enter submit a piece of media for an online audience on any geoscience topic of your choice; entry to the competition closes 31 January 2025.

Today’s Fun Fact Friday mineral is so important to the advancement of society that it inspired a period of pre-history: we’re looking at #tin. Fun fact: tin is one of the oldest metals known to humans and its discovery kick-started the Bronze Age thousands of years ago. Bronze is an ‘alloy’ or mixture of two metals; tin and copper. Tin is a versatile element used in many forms and industries. Its largest application is in solder for electronic circuit boards - used in electronic devices like smartphones, tablets and electric cars. It is also used in chemicals to improve plastics, and in tinplate for food tins. To learn more about tin and other critical minerals, visit our Critical Minerals 101 over at www.futureismine.co.uk Video description: Bronze Age warriors charge towards an unseen foe. #Tin #BronzeAge #Electronics #FunFactFriday #CriticalMinerals #Outreach

This important message from Alexandra Knight - on engaging and amplifying diverse voices in our STEM industries - is highly relevant for the mining and geosciences sectors too

Turkiye's Critical and Strategic Minerals list has identified 8 minerals as Highly Critical for the country, including #aluminium, #copper and #titanium

Looking for space and planetary science teaching resources? Check out the exciting news from The Geological Society below!

Today at Future Is Mine we’re looking at a mineral critical to the energy transition: #graphite Fun fact: a pencil lead isn’t made from lead (Pb), it’s graphite! Graphite has the chemical symbol C, from the Latin word meaning “charcoal”. Graphite can be produced from natural (mined) and synthetic sources. Its main uses are in lithium-ion batteries as anode material, in heat-resistant refractories for steelmaking, and synthetic graphite electrodes for recycling of steel. To learn more about graphite and other critical minerals, visit our Critical Minerals 101 over at www.futureismine.co.uk Video description: An artist sketches onto paper with a pencil. #Graphite #Pencil #Batteries #FunFactFriday #CriticalMinerals #Outreach

We love these fun facts about #lithium - check out the video from Cornish Lithium Plc, a UK lithium project developer.