Bio
Oliver Richards is Head of Critical Minerals and Mining (International) at the UK Department for Business and Trade (DBT). His team is responsible for the UK’s critical minerals strategy, which seeks to improve security of supply for UK industry and promote global supply chain resilience. This involves working closely with the public and private sector investment communities, and international partners.
Oliver is an experienced British government official, diplomat and trade expert. He has led UK government trade teams in Indonesia, Egypt and the wider North African region. He also has a background in Africa and the Middle East and previously served as British Deputy High Commissioner in Botswana.
He has worked widely with most of the UK-based multinational companies to support their business overseas, overseen the negotiation of new trade frameworks in several markets, and has experience of working on UK supported delivery of several major infrastructure programmes.
Abstract
At Responsible Raw Materials, Oliver will discuss the development of the UK Government’s new Critical Minerals Strategy, due for publication later this year, including the Department for Business and Trade’s approach to engaging with industry, academia and others to develop priorities and approaches built on common understanding of the problems and potential solutions. This will include some examples of public-private partnerships based on finance and research and innovation, exploring how the DBT engages with international partners.
