SLR supports the Mineral Mission outreach project
- Post Date
- 11 November 2025
- Read Time
- 4 minutes
Over the last six months, SLR has been a proud project partner in the creation of a UK school outreach initiative called ‘Mineral Mission’. The project aims to bring education around critical minerals into schools and was funded by the UK government’s Department for Business and Trade.
Critical minerals are essential to our modern lives and central to economic growth. They are found in everything, from infrastructure and technology to the built environment, and are also an integral part of the energy transition. However, looming skills gaps threaten the building of resilient critical mineral supply chains in the UK, with the number of young people choosing to study geosciences falling steadily over the past decade. [1]
Mineral Mission aims to help address this by delivering informative sessions in schools to get students engaged with geoscience. The series of educational resources is based around critical minerals, showcasing their importance in everyday life with a focus on those necessary for energy transition technology. The Mineral Mission project was inspired by a recent EU-funded initiative called the Briefcase of Mineral Applications run by RIS Briefcase (through EIT Raw Materials).[2] This project produced a large number of ‘briefcases’ for use by teachers and demonstrators across the EU to introduce students to the role of mineral raw materials in today’s world. SLR collaborated with Future Is Mine CIC and Minerals Matter to adapt this concept for UK schools and include a more interactive and story-based lesson approach. We are excited to announce a total of 13 boxes of resources are now stored across the UK ready to be used.
The boxes can be borrowed by anyone who wishes to conduct outreach activities. They come with a lesson plan for a one-hour session, which is aimed at Key Stage 2 and 3 students (7-12 year olds), but they can also be used at careers fairs or conferences to provide a great talking point when engaging with students and other interested groups. The Mineral Mission briefcases include a story-led resource developed around the fictional character Dr Flora Spar, who needs help finding missing minerals. There are four different themes based around technologies that need critical minerals to function – ‘Solar Surprise’ (solar panels), ‘Aeroplane Adventure’ (aeroplanes), ‘EV Explorers’ (electric vehicles) and ‘Turbine Trouble’ (wind turbines).
Ben Lepley, Senior ESG Consultant in SLR’s International Environmental and Social team was the SLR Project Lead for this initiative. Ben states: “This exciting opportunity allows us to build on great work done by the European Union EIT Raw Materials’ Briefcase 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.”
The lessons delivered so far through the Mineral Mission project show the interactive and story-based approach brings the subject to life and really engages students with mining and minerals. They get to understand the important role minerals play in our daily lives, as well as learn about where minerals come from and how they are extracted. The project also explores some of the challenges and issues around mining, and how, with the right values and innovations, it can be done more responsibly. With this resource, we hope to inspire a new generation of environmentally and socially conscious individuals who can help improve the industry.
Get involved
If you would like to get involved, you can become a STEM Ambassador through the STEM Learning Platform [3] and, once approved, you can be linked to Minerals Matter [4] to provide more information about how to best approach outreach activities. In order to borrow one of the Mineral Mission boxes (you do not have to be a STEM Ambassador but it is encouraged), please use the loan form.[5] More information can also be found on the Future is Mine website. [6]
----------------------------------
