From tin and tungsten in the SW, through the base-metals, fluorite and barite of Pennine Ore field, through the coal and iron deposits which fed the Industrial Revolution, the UK hosts an extraordinary legacy of mineral deposit mining, extending back many centuries. Indeed, Ore Deposit science was central to the birth of the world’s first ever national geological survey – now called the British Geological Survey. Our rich mineral history continues to be written today, with, for example, the Cononish Gold producing its first gold in 2016. Allied to these rich resources, the UK has a strong and long-established international profile in Mineral Deposit research, hosting several vibrant centres of excellence, many of whom have just begun work on the UK’s largest ever Mineral Deposit research programme: the £15M initiative on E–tech elements – NERC’s Security of Supply of Mineral Deposits (SoS Minerals). Far from looking inwards, our community embraces international collaboration, and relishes the opportunity to bring one of the world’s most prestigious Mineral Deposit research meeting to the UK, and Glasgow, in particular.