Rising resource nationalism and expropriatory measures in African cobalt, copper, gold and lithium projects are driving more investor–state arbitrations, but investors often doubt they can monetise awards against states with limited attachable foreign assets and constrained reserves. Hogan Lovells’ Markus Burgstaller and colleagues with Kroll urge integrating arbitration counsel and asset tracers from the outset to map non-immune assets, using London’s courts and financial infrastructure to target bank accounts, commercial property and bond payment flows. They stress politically sensitive assets, coordinated reputational pressure on lenders and markets, and timing enforcement around government changes to force negotiated settlements rather than purely symbolic seizures.

Europe’s critical minerals shortfall is framed by economic geologist Dr Nicholas Vafeas as a policy choice, with the EU funnelling roughly €380 billion per year into tightly scripted, mission-oriented R&D that favours climate and digital themes but leaves little room for speculative processing, refining and separation technologies. On a comparable $500 billion R&D spend, China files about 1.8 million patents—over 3,500 per $1 billion—buying “optionality” in areas like graphite processing, rare earth separation and lithium refining long before they became strategic. For miners and processors, the message is that control over midstream capabilities, not just new deposits, will define Europe’s leverage in future supply chains.

A coalition of environmental and heritage charities, including the National Trust and RSPB, is urging the UK government to “reset” its pro-development revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework before final decisions this summer. The groups argue that proposed changes to housing delivery tests and presumption in favour of sustainable development could weaken protections for Sites of Special Scientific Interest and conservation areas. For civil and infrastructure schemes, this signals potential shifts in planning risk, environmental assessment scope and mitigation requirements on greenfield and sensitive sites.