Australian mining leaders are warning that federal plans to replace the 50% capital gains tax discount with cost base indexation and a 30% minimum tax on gains from 1 July 2027 will choke risk capital for greenfields exploration. Evolution Mining founder Jake Klein and Westgold Resources managing director Wayne Bramwell told IMARC the exclusion of explorers from exemptions granted to tech start-ups is already drying up funding in Western Australia, Australia’s largest exploration jurisdiction. The Minerals Council of Australia and AMEC argue the policy conflicts with Canberra’s stated critical minerals ambitions and could damage the exploration ecosystem for years.

The US Defense Logistics Agency has committed $2 billion in FY2026 to acquire strategic and critical materials for the National Defense Stockpile, targeting rare earths, tungsten, titanium, antimony, high‑purity aluminium and vanadium pentoxide. Contracts issued through DLA’s Contracting Services Office are structured as targeted demand signals to US miners, refiners and recyclers to reshore supply, reduce single‑point‑of‑failure risk and support the National Defense Strategy’s focus on resilient, secure supply chains. For producers, domestic sourcing and reclamation routes that can deliver defence‑grade material forms now have clearer long‑term demand visibility.

Canada’s 2026 budget extends the 15% Mineral Exploration Tax Credit and 30% Critical Mineral Exploration Tax Credit for flow-through agreements signed to 31 March 2032, adds antimony to the 30% credit, and commits C$424.4 million to renew the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy plus C$34 million to extend GeoNorth. PDAC welcomes the longer runway and public geoscience spend, but AME warns that excluding engineering, economic and feasibility studies from Canadian Exploration Expense keeps the financing gap between discovery and construction. For project delivery, Ottawa also prolongs Clean Technology and Clean Electricity investment tax credits to 2040, expands eligibility to highest-voltage transmission lines, and allocates nearly C$4 billion over 10 years for grid and renewable infrastructure.