Yancoal Australia has acquired an 80 per cent interest in the Kestrel underground metallurgical coal mine in Queensland’s Bowen Basin by purchasing 100 per cent of Kestrel Coal Group for an upfront US$1.85 billion cash consideration, subject to completion adjustments. The deal gives Yancoal control over a longwall operation producing premium hard coking coal linked to existing rail and port infrastructure at Gladstone. For geotechnical and mining teams, the acquisition signals continued investment in deep, high-capex underground coal with sustained demand for longwall support, strata control and ventilation expertise.

Lynas Rare Earths will acquire Meteoric Resources in an all-scrip deal valuing Meteoric at about A$1.45 billion, securing the Caldeira ionic clay rare earths project in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Caldeira is described as the largest known ionic clay rare earth oxide resource outside China, with a definitive feasibility study due in the March 2026 quarter and first production targeted for 2028. The move gives Lynas a major non-Chinese, non-hard-rock feed source for its existing cracking and separation plants in Australia and Malaysia.

Texas startup Supra Elemental Recovery has secured a Phase I SBIR contract from the US Department of Defense’s Defense Logistics Agency to advance scandium recovery from North American industrial byproducts using its proprietary chemical separation platform. Spun out of the University of Texas at Austin, Supra applies peer-reviewed separation technologies directly at mining and industrial sites to selectively recover rare earth elements and other critical minerals from existing feedstocks. The project will test feasibility and scalability for high‑purity scandium production, targeting onshore resources to reduce total US reliance on imported scandium.