THE week before last, I travelled to Georgia, USA, at the bequest of the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office, where I met with talented American miners and geologists, many of whom had worked in Cornwall and were familiar with our geology.

I had the opportunity to meet with local mining company, Kamin, members of Imerys’ team based in Georgia, as well as experts in the sector from Georgia’s Universities, and our very own from Camborne School of Mines. As Chair of the AllParty Parliamentary Group on Critical Minerals, I was proud to champion the Cornish mining sector abroad, whilst learning of the opportunities and challenges that both the Georgian and Cornish mining sectors face.

Cornwall and Georgia both share china clay mining as a significant part of their heritage. Mining expertise is one of the many things that make Cornwall great and has been a source of wealth for our corner of the world. With enough investment and care in our approach, I believe it can be a source of prosperity once again. Once, mining was incredibly labour intensive and supply chains very localised; today, instead, it is capital intensive, meaning that that shared prosperity may be less of a given.

As part of my role as the MP representing St Austell and Newquay, I have met with workers in our mining industry repeatedly. My offer to them has been crystal clear; I am willing to champion the sector to Government and to fight tooth and nail to ensure they get the support they need to thrive. In return, they must ensure that it is the residents of Cornwall that benefit from this growth - it is only right that it is the local people that get a share in the spoils. The jobs created by investment into Cornish mining must go to Cornish people, and the profits created must go towards improving public infrastructure – towards our NHS, our roads, our schools. A Cornish mining renaissance MUST benefit Cornish people.

In an increasingly volatile world, the critical minerals underneath the ground in Cornwall may become an invaluable source of strategic independence. Critical minerals are vital to our economy in a myriad of ways – from being key ingredients in industry, our energy infrastructure, and military hardware. The ability of the UK to source these valuable minerals ourselves, instead of being reliant on hostile foreign powers, will provide the country with security and the sovereignty to pursue our own interests.

Last week I rounded off my Clay Country Roadshow where, together with residents, with got into the weeds of these very issues: How will the spoils of this industry by shared? Though local jobs? Local supply chain businesses? Infrastructure and services development? Through skills development? Through public and local ownership?

The resounding response from residents has been "All of the above!"