PAS 4010, a new BSI Publicly Available Specification for UK infrastructure, will require major project teams to measure and manage productivity systematically across the full project lifecycle. The standard mandates structured assessment of workflows, interfaces and decision-making, pushing clients, designers and contractors to collect consistent performance data and act on identified bottlenecks rather than relying on ad hoc improvement initiatives. For engineers, this signals more formalised productivity baselining, clearer process metrics and closer scrutiny of how design, procurement and construction sequencing affect delivery efficiency.

Brazil has approved a 27‑mineral critical list, with nine high‑priority commodities – including rare earths, graphite, lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, manganese, silicon and uranium – guiding which projects qualify for federal backing. A new risk‑reduction fund, FGAM, can receive up to R$2 billion, while the Federal Program for Critical and Strategic Minerals will provide up to R$1 billion per year from 2030–2034 for mining development and transformation. Only listed minerals in nationally registered projects will be eligible, with classifications reviewed every four years.

Australian mining leaders are warning that federal plans to replace the 50% capital gains tax discount with cost base indexation and a 30% minimum tax on gains from 1 July 2027 will choke risk capital for greenfields exploration. Evolution Mining founder Jake Klein and Westgold Resources managing director Wayne Bramwell told IMARC the exclusion of explorers from exemptions granted to tech start-ups is already drying up funding in Western Australia, Australia’s largest exploration jurisdiction. The Minerals Council of Australia and AMEC argue the policy conflicts with Canberra’s stated critical minerals ambitions and could damage the exploration ecosystem for years.