US lawmakers have introduced a bipartisan bill to create a $2.5 billion Strategic Resilience Reserve for critical minerals, with a seven-member board empowered to buy, store and sell materials such as rare earths, lithium, graphite and cobalt across US facilities. The reserve would prioritise recycled feedstock but also accept mined material, recycle sale proceeds back into operations, and allow allied countries to join with contributions of at least $100 million. Proponents aim to counter China’s control of about 60% of mined rare earths and most downstream processing, and to anchor a Western price benchmark for currently thinly traded minerals.

The 5th Ministerial Roundtable at the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh has concluded with the creation of a new ministerial steering group to shape future agendas on mineral security and supply-chain resilience. Convened by Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, the roundtable gathered producing and consuming countries from Africa, Asia and Europe to discuss cross-border investment frameworks and shared ESG standards. The steering group will coordinate between forums, aiming to turn high-level commitments on responsible mining and critical minerals into specific policy and project pipelines.

Westminster City Council has adopted a retrofit-first planning policy in its City Plan Partial Review, obliging developers to evidence options for retaining and adapting existing structures before applying for demolition and rebuild. The plan also tightens affordable housing requirements, shifting the tenure mix in new schemes from 40% to 70% social rent and from 60% to 30% intermediate, and capturing sites with fewer than 10 units through financial contributions. Four large mixed-use strategic sites are flagged for redevelopment: St Mary’s Hospital, Westbourne Park Bus Garage, land adjacent to Royal Oak, and Grosvenor Sidings.