Lynas Rare Earths chief executive and managing director Amanda Lacaze has been appointed chair of the Minerals Council of Australia, placing a rare earths producer at the centre of the country’s peak mining lobby. Her appointment comes as the MCA pushes for streamlined project approvals, stable royalty and tax settings, and large-scale investment in processing capacity for critical minerals such as neodymium–praseodymium. For geotechnical and mining engineers, this signals continued policy pressure to accelerate new pit developments and brownfield expansions in hard-rock rare earth and base metal deposits.

The US and India have signed a bilateral critical minerals framework, building on February’s launch of the Forum on Resource Geostrategic Engagement (FORGE) in Washington, to secure mining and processing supply chains against single-source monopolies and coercive market practices. India, which officially designates 30 critical minerals and holds an estimated 13 million tonnes of monazite, currently produces only copper, graphite, phosphorous and titanium at scale, signalling substantial greenfield and processing opportunities. Parallel Quad and prospective Russia pacts position India as a multi-aligned hub for rare earths and battery-metal projects.

HS2’s latest cost estimates have triggered renewed criticism from Plaid Cymru transport spokesperson Delyth Jewell, who says Welsh passengers are being treated as “second class citizens” because the scheme is classified as an “England and Wales” project despite no HS2 track being built in Wales. That designation means Wales receives no Barnett consequential funding, unlike Scotland and Northern Ireland, even as HS2’s budget has escalated far beyond its original multi‑tens‑of‑billions envelope. The dispute affects prospects for upgrading key Welsh routes such as the South Wales Main Line and North Wales Coast Line.