ForumforAg Food Systems Podcast Summary

In this interview, Cristina Bruce, Senior Vice President for Sustainability and Social Impact at Anglo-American, discusses the mining company’s move into agricultural fertilizers through its polyhalite project in the north of England. A former British diplomat, Bruce reflects on the panel discussion she has just taken part in, touching on food security, soil health, the role of science and regulation, trust-building in mining communities, and the wider geopolitical instability shaping the agricultural sector today.

Q: You’ve just been on stage talking about the end of the world as we know it and the consequences for agriculture and environment. You’re the Senior Vice President for Sustainability and Social Impact at Anglo-American, and you’re now looking at crop nutrients, specifically polyhalites. Can you tell us about that?

Cristina explained that Anglo-American is responding to major global trends — a growing population, worsening food security, and an escalating soil health crisis — by investing in what she described as the world’s largest polyhalite resource, located in the north of England. The project aims to produce innovative, low-carbon fertilizers supplying calcium, magnesium, potassium and sulfur, helping farmers improve nitrogen use efficiency and soil health.

Q: Given the current fertilizer crisis and fertilizer security concerns, how do you see a project in the north of England scaling up to meaningfully improve resilience in food systems?

She said Anglo-American takes a long-term investment view and believes scaling is achievable, but not through a single solution. Research conducted with academic institutions and farmers across different countries is showing polyhalite has a genuine role to play. Realizing that potential depends on partnership — with regulators, scientists, and customers — to access the right markets and develop the right products, ultimately building resilience across the whole system.

Q: What did you hear from the other voices on the panel today? What was new to you?

Cristina described a lively debate among panelists over whether the industry is facing a sudden, world-ending crisis or simply an intensification of volatility that has been building for years, as many in the climate space have long argued. There was also discussion about the role of science in supporting innovation, and disagreement over how much responsibility should sit with government and regulators versus private companies. She pointed to Anglo-American’s partnership with the IAEA on polyhalite and soil health as an example of the private sector’s contribution to research.

Q: Mining faces real criticism around sustainability. How important is building trust to your role?

She called it absolutely critical. Her role, she said, is to identify which sustainability practices genuinely add value — not just to the business but to host communities, governments, and partners — over the long term. She noted that developing a mine from discovery to production takes an average of 17 years and often costs billions of dollars, so long-term trust-building has to be foundational. She also emphasized that “value” should be understood holistically, encompassing trust and well-being alongside profit.

Q: As a former British diplomat, how did that perspective shape the panel’s discussion of global instability — energy, water and food security, climate change — where every alarm bell seems to be flashing red? Did the panel make real progress?

Cristina said she places great value on relationships and on the role of government, which is partly why she moved from the Foreign Office into a private company where she believes real positive impact can be made. She saw value simply in bringing people from different sectors together to build trust and talk through volatility, framing this kind of cross-sector dialogue as important not only for agriculture but more broadly, given the current uncertainty.

This summary was created by AI. To watch or listen to the full recording visit the podcast page.