Better Than Gold: Critical Minerals

BBC Inside Science

BBC

Technology, Science

4.5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 3 April 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Critical minerals have hit the headlines of almost every news outlet this week as US President Donald Trump made his desires to mine them in Ukraine clear.

These precious resources are a hot geopolitical bargaining chip thanks to our reliance on them in everything from mobile phones to wind turbines.

This week, Inside Science unearths everything you need to know about critical minerals; what they are, why they’re critical, and what we do when there’s no more left to mine.

Also this week, we come to the end of a laborious seven-year journey of collecting and identifying Scotland’s most valued Jurassic fossil. And Nature journalist Lizzie Gibney brings us her pick of the week’s science news, including moon landers and woolly mice.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producers: Sophie Ormiston, Gerry Holt, Ella Hubber Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth To discover more fascinating science content, head to bbc.co.uk search for BBC Inside Science and follow the links to The Open University.

Transcript

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0:00.0	What do Selena Gomez, LeBron James and Martha Stewart all have in common?
0:06.2	Their lives and fortunes are all being discussed in season three of Good Bad Billionaire.
0:10.9	Yes, the podcast exploring the minds, the motives and the money of some of the world's wealthiest individuals is back.
0:16.9	I'm Zing Singh and I'm Simon Jack.
0:18.6	Each week we take a closer look at some of the world's mega rich.
0:21.8	And try to decide together whether we think they're good, bad or just another billionaire.
0:26.5	Good bad billionaire.
0:27.5	Listen first on BBC Sounds.
0:31.5	BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.
0:35.4	This is the podcast for BBC Inside Science, first broadcast on the 6th of March 2025.
0:42.7	I'm Marnie Chesterton.
0:44.3	Hello, this week your guide to the Ukrainian minerals hitting the headlines.
0:48.5	A Jurassic Surprise breaks free from some different minerals and how to fight waste using toddler power.
0:56.1	Plus, joining me to chat through this week's latest science news journalist from nature, Lizzie Gibney.
1:01.2	Hello.
1:01.7	Hi, money. Thanks for having me.
1:03.1	What can we expect from you, just a taster?
1:05.6	A taster would be two very different kinds of beasts.
1:08.6	One very cute fits in your palm and four-legged and the other
1:12.3	six-legged and armed with a drill. Excellent. Intriguing. Now, minerals don't usually make for
1:19.9	sexy headlines. My guests might disagree, but they are well and truly in the spotlight
1:25.5	thanks to some recent announcements by President Trump.
	...

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