US mining enters 2026 under a suite of Trump executive orders (EO 14213, 14220, 14241, 14261 and 14272) directing agencies to cut permitting delays, open federal land and expand domestic processing, with impacts expected on exploration timelines and investor confidence in critical minerals. SME consultant Debra W. Struhsacker warns that more than 30 years of restrictive legislation and land-use limits mean recovery will be gradual, with litigation over NEPA reviews and the fate of the SPEED Act (HR 4776) key to real permitting gains. She flags severe rare earths dependence on China and a looming skills gap, noting only 14 US mining schools and urging passage of the Mining Schools Act of 2025 and renewed federal mineral research funding.

The Association for Mineral Exploration is urging British Columbia Premier David Eby to appeal the Gitxaala Nation v. British Columbia decision, after the province’s Court of Appeal ruled on 5 December that the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act incorporates UNDRIP and creates legally enforceable obligations. AME argues the ruling creates uncertainty for the province’s automatic online mineral claim system and the Mineral Tenure Act, despite the March 2025 Mineral Claims Consultation Framework (MCCF) changes. The group wants the legislature recalled to make “substantive” amendments to DRIPA and section 8.1 of the Interpretation Act before a 16 February 2026 appeal deadline.

Korean researchers led by Seungho Lee at Jeonbuk National University map five distinct lithium governance models in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and Mexico, linking them to commodity price cycles, geopolitical competition and the maturity of each country’s lithium industry. Chile’s hybrid regime with strong state oversight contrasts with Argentina and Brazil’s decentralised, market-led systems, Bolivia’s tightly controlled state-led model and Mexico’s largely rhetorical nationalisation stance. The two-stage decision-making framework signals that miners, battery manufacturers and state-backed investors must tailor project, offtake and JV strategies to country-specific political settlements rather than apply a single Latin America playbook.