Weardale Lithium Appoints Sir Michael Fallon

Core Lithium

02/06/2026 07:00

RNS Number : 5287G
  
Weardale Lithium Limited
  
02 June 2026
  
 



PRESS RELEASE
 2 June 2026
 
Sir Michael Fallon joins Weardale Lithium as Senior Adviser
 
Weardale Lithium has appointed Sir Michael Fallon as a Senior Adviser as the company continues to advance its plans to establish lithium production from geothermal brines in the UK.
 
Sir Michael will provide strategic counsel to Weardale Lithium, bringing significant experience across government, defence, trade, infrastructure investment and energy, at a time when critical minerals are becoming increasingly important to national and supra-national economic resilience, energy security and industrial strategies.
 
The appointment further strengthens Weardale Lithium's strategic capability as geopolitical forces, supply chain security and the global transition towards electrification continue to drive demand for reliable domestic sources of lithium and other critical minerals.
 
Weardale Lithium is strategically positioned within North East England, a region already home to significant automotive and battery manufacturing capability, enabling the development of a locally integrated, UK 'borehole-to-battery' supply chain.
 
Sir Michael served in UK Government for more than three decades, as Secretary of State for Defence and as Minister of State for Business and Energy, giving him extensive experience in sectors directly relevant to critical minerals requiring sovereign resilience and industrial capability.
 
Alongside his government experience, Sir Michael holds several senior advisory and chairmanship roles across infrastructure, advanced technologies, energy and investment. These include Chairman of Aberdeen Investcorp Infrastructure Partners Chairman Aerospace & Defence Fund at BlueFive Capital, and Adviser to Nova Innovation Ltd.
 
Sir Michael also previously served as MP for Darlington in the 1980s and early 1990s, providing him with a longstanding understanding of the North East region where Weardale Lithium is developing its project in County Durham.
 
Stewart Dickson, CEO of Weardale Lithium, said:
 
"Sir Michael brings an exceptional breadth of strategic experience at a time when critical minerals are rapidly moving up the agenda for governments, investors and industry".
 
"The development of secure, domestic supply chains for critical minerals such as lithium is becoming increasingly important to the UK's long-term economic resilience, industrial competitiveness and energy transition ambitions".
 
"His experience across defence, trade, energy, infrastructure and international investment markets will provide valuable strategic insight as we continue to progress our plans in County Durham and position Weardale Lithium at the forefront of developing a domestic lithium industry."
 
Located at a brownfield site in Eastgate, Weardale Lithium is developing a leading, commercial lithium extraction facility from geothermal brines to produce battery grade lithium carbonate.  Planning approval has been granted for a two-phase development, enabling commercial scale-up and represents the UK's largest permitted lithium extraction project.
 
Once fully commercialized, the project is expected to support significant regional economic activity through high-skilled employment, supply chain engagement and inward investment, while contributing to the UK's strategic objective of building a secure, sustainable and globally competitive supply of battery raw materials.
 
Sir Michael Fallon said:
 
"Critical minerals are strategically important to future economic growth, industrial capability and energy security. The UK has a significant opportunity to strengthen sovereign resilience through the development of secure domestic supply chains and homegrown critical mineral production, especially lithium".
 
"Weardale Lithium is operating in a sector of growing national importance and I look forward to supporting the company as it continues to develop its plans in the North East of England."
 
ENDS
 
NEWS RELEASE: ISSUED ON BEHALF OF WEARDALE LITHIUM LIMITED
 
For further information & media enquiries contact: Jamie Collis 01325 363436
 
Photo caption:
 
Editors' Notes:
About Weardale Lithium
Weardale Lithium Limited is an innovative natural resources development company seeking to provide a secure and sustainable, domestic supply of lithium from underground geothermal waters in Weardale, County Durham, UK.
 
Weardale Lithium is the first company to successfully produce lithium carbonate from the geothermal groundwaters beneath the North Pennine Orefield using Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technology. It has a strategic position in the UK critical minerals supply chain.
 
Weardale Lithium is committed to sustainability and environmental responsibility.  Extraction of lithium from geothermal brines utilising DLE has a lower carbon footprint and higher sustainability credentials (low water consumption and low waste) than lithium from other deposit types via conventional mining operations.
 
Supply of domestic lithium is of strategic importance to the UK, most notably for electric vehicle batteries and battery energy storage systems. The UK Government Critical Minerals Strategy, published in Q4 2025, has set the objective of at least 10% of annual UK industrial demand for critical minerals, in the aggregate, is met by industry through domestic production. As part of this, at least 50,000 tonnes of lithium (or lithium carbonate equivalent) is to be produced domestically by 2035. UK-produced lithium will provide national supply resilience and security with a lower environmental impact.
 
Lithium is classified as a Critical Mineral by the UK Government and the UK Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre. More widely, Lithium has been designated as a strategic metal by the European Union, US, Canadian and Australian governments as well as the International Energy Agency and NATO. There is currently no commercial scale lithium production in the UK and Europe despite a significant market opportunity and rising demand.
 
 
For more information, please visit: 
®  www.weardalelithium.co
®  @weardalelithium on X
®  Weardale Lithium on LinkedIn
®  info@weardalelithium.co




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