Greenland’s government has issued a draft decision not to renew Energy Transition Minerals’ Kvanefjeld exploration licence, effectively blocking development of the planned mine–concentrator–refinery rare earths complex under the 2021 Uranium Act that bans uranium prospecting, exploration and exploitation. ETM argues the move is inconsistent with previous licence extensions granted after the Act and during ongoing legal challenges, warning it may deter critical minerals investment in Greenland amid US‑EU efforts to diversify away from Chinese supply. Despite securing Spanish foreign direct investment approval for acquiring the Penouta tin‑tantalum mine, ETM’s shares fell 7.4% to A$0.050, halving year‑to‑date.

British Columbia Premier David Eby plans a temporary suspension of specific sections of the province’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act after the Gitxaała First Nation Court of Appeal ruling found the online mineral claims system, which allows staking on Crown land without prior consultation, conflicts with DRIPA. The government will amend DRIPA in the current session, treat the vote as a confidence matter, and seek a Supreme Court of Canada ruling that could take up to three years, prolonging regulatory uncertainty for explorers. The Association for Mineral Exploration reports only 15% of mineral claim applications are being processed within the 90–120-day service standard, warning delays threaten the 2026 summer exploration season.

France’s central bank has liquidated its remaining 129 tonnes of gold held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, selling the “non‑standard” bars between July 2025 and January 2026 and buying replacement bullion in European markets that meets modern international bar specifications. The transaction generated a €13 billion ($15 billion) capital gain, turning a 2024 net loss of €7.7 billion into an €8.1 billion net profit for 2025, while keeping total reserves unchanged at about 2,437 tonnes now stored entirely in the BdF’s La Souterraine vault. The Bank of France still plans to upgrade a further 134 tonnes of older bars to current standards by 2028.