Over the past 50 years, the UK has become increasingly reliant
on imports of minerals (British Geological Survey, 2008b) and
mineral-derived manufactured goods. The same applies to much
of the European Union. Fuelled principally by economic growth in
Asia and in other emerging economies, the commodities ‘supercycle’
which began in the earlier part of this decade has seen
unprecedented demand for metallic and industrial minerals (as
well as fossil fuels) (Morrison, 2008). This, in turn, has led to a
rise in ‘resource nationalism’ within certain countries and renewed
concerns about security of supply.