Venezuela’s push to reopen the Orinoco Mining Arc to global investors for gold, bauxite, coltan, iron ore and nickel is colliding with the presence of at least four uncontacted Indigenous peoples (Jödi/Hoti, Uwottüja/Piaroa, Yanomami and Eñepá/Panare) whose territories overlap or lie close to planned mining zones. Survival International reports 196 uncontacted groups worldwide, over 96% threatened by extractives, with Venezuelan Yanomami already facing mercury contamination, infectious disease and violent crime linked to illegal gold mining. The op-ed argues that without legally recognised territories, buffer zones, FPIC-compliant frameworks and IRMA-level safeguards, large-scale mining and associated access roads risk illegal encroachment, corporate complicity and potentially existential impacts on isolated communities.

Rio Tinto chair Dominic Barton has been appointed chair of Invest in Canada and MEM Growth Partners founder Gurinder Grewal named CEO, tasked with steering a C$1 trillion ($720 billion) investment drive over five years into critical minerals, energy, artificial intelligence and major infrastructure. Ottawa expects about C$280 billion in federal capital and incentives to leverage more than C$1 trillion from public, private and institutional sources, building on C$96.8 billion of foreign direct investment in 2025. Invest in Canada will work closely with the federal Major Projects Office to move foreign investors from early interest to construction.

NatureScot has launched a public consultation on the Scottish Planning Biodiversity Metric, a standardised tool required under National Planning Framework 4 (2023) to evidence biodiversity net gain on large-scale developments. The metric starts from a baseline habitat survey – covering grassland, peatland and woodland – to quantify pre-development biodiversity value and calculate the area and type of habitat creation or restoration needed to offset and enhance losses. Consultation on the working tool, user guide and habitat condition assessment runs to 30 November, with a refined version due in spring 2027.