Minerals Council of Australia’s Victorian division is urging the State Government to rethink proposed fee hikes that would lift exploration licence charges by 40 per cent and work plan fees by 400 per cent. The council argues the changes, tied to exploration licences and renewals, would deter greenfields drilling and early-stage geoscience in a state already seen as high-cost and regulatory-heavy. For explorers, the move could shift budgets interstate, delay drilling campaigns, and reduce appetite for deep or technically complex targets.

Brazil’s Supreme Court has upheld Justice Flávio Dino’s March 2025 ruling allowing the Cinta Larga to conduct legal mineral exploration and mining on four territories in Rondônia and Mato Grosso under a temporary framework while Congress has 24 months to pass national Indigenous mining legislation. The interim rules cap mining footprints at 1% of each territory, require prior community consultation plus environmental, Congressional and National Mining Agency approvals, and give Indigenous groups preference as operators. Where third parties mine, Cinta Larga communities must receive 50% of the value otherwise owed to state and federal governments, directed to safety, environmental recovery, health, education and sustainable production.

Former National Infrastructure Commission for Wales chair David Clubb, who led the body for more than four years, has stepped down, warning that long-term planning is being constrained by tight devolved budgets and fragmented responsibilities between Cardiff Bay, Westminster and local authorities. He points to stalled decisions on major transport corridors, grid reinforcement for new onshore wind and solar, and flood defence upgrades for low-lying coastal communities as critical pinch points. For engineers, he signals that robust business cases, whole-life carbon data and climate-resilient design will be central to securing funding in Wales over the next decade.