In the House of Chamber at Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy oral questions, Richard spoke about rare minerals in reference to China to the Secretary of State.
Commenting, Richard said:
"It is vital for future UK industry that we have a strong rare mineral supply chain here in the UK.
"The last few months have shown us what happens when the world is dependent on foreign powers for access to key resources. It's made it very difficult for the German government and others to act over Ukraine without crippling themselves. And in the UK we've seen how reduced global supply has driven up prices of everything from oil and gas to food products as others seek to get their supplies from countries other than Russia.
"It's vital that we develop some rare earth metal supply in the UK to ensure security for next generation manufacturing that are the next generation of jobs. That's why I've welcomed the c. £1m split between Northern Lithium and Weardale Lithium for exploratory works in Weardale."
