Queensland’s Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Dale Last has ordered a full review of the state’s Financial Provisioning Scheme (FPS), aiming to strip out what he calls “unnecessary barriers” to new mining investment while retaining strict environmental bonding. Announced at the Queensland Mining & Engineering Exhibition (QME) 2026 in Mackay, the review targets how rehabilitation securities are calculated and held for large projects, which currently tie up substantial capital on balance sheets. Any FPS redesign will directly affect project financing structures, mine closure planning and risk pricing for both greenfield and brownfield operations in the state.

Permitting reform in the United States is emerging as a critical constraint on efforts to challenge China’s dominance in critical minerals, with mining lawyer Scot Anderson arguing NEPA-driven reviews and litigation that can stretch to 20 years must be cut to roughly three to five years, in line with Chile. The G7 has agreed that no single country should supply more than 60% of its rare earth imports by 2030, yet China still refines over 90% of global rare earths and controls more than 70% of critical mineral processing. Anderson adds that recycling and tailings reprocessing will not meet surging demand for copper, lithium, cobalt, nickel and rare earths without substantial new mines and processing capacity.

UK nationalisation of British Steel has triggered a legal challenge from former owner Jingye Steel, which claims the 2025 government takeover stripped it of all shareholder rights in breach of its 2020 acquisition agreement. A UK National Audit Office report cited by Jingye estimates the intervention could cost taxpayers up to £1.5 billion by 2028, with an independent review to decide any compensation. Ministers justify the move as a last‑resort to keep plants operating, protect jobs and push British Steel faster towards low‑carbon production.