National Timber Group, Britain's largest timber merchant, is on the brink of breaking up as it faces insolvency, with notices of intent to appoint administrators filed for each part of the group. Established by Cairngorm Capital in 2018, the group consolidated several timber companies, including Thornbridge and Arnold Laver, but reported a pre-tax loss of £6.3 million on a £197 million turnover for 2023. Now controlled by Sylvan Span and led by CEO Mark Dixon, the group is in advanced talks to sell substantial parts of its business while seeking additional funding to stabilise operations.

An immigration enforcement operation at a Vistry house-building site in Bexhill, East Sussex, led to the removal of 17 men from Albania, Georgia, and India, who were found working illegally. Conducted by the Home Office and Sussex Police on 12th November, the operation could result in fines of up to £60,000 per worker for the employer. Four of the men were detained for removal from the UK, while the others were placed on immigration bail, amidst a 63% rise in illegal working arrests in the UK over the past year.

Americas Gold and Silver is acquiring Crescent Silver's historic mine in Idaho for $65 million, aiming to enhance its Silver Valley operations. The Crescent mine, located 9 miles from the Galena complex, produced over 25 million oz. of silver at an average grade of 891 grams per tonne between 1917 and 1981. With the potential to add 1.4 to 1.6 million oz. of silver annually, the acquisition leverages existing milling capacity at Galena and Coeur mills, promising increased production and cash flow by mid-2026.

Glencore has signed a life-of-mine offtake agreement with Chilean Cobalt for all cobalt and copper from the La Cobaltera and El Cofre projects in northern Chile. The partnership will see intermediate products processed at US Strategic Metals' facility in Missouri, aiming to produce 3,000–5,000 tonnes of cobalt annually, addressing the US's current import levels of 8,000–10,000 tonnes. This deal comes amid a cobalt export ban from the Democratic Republic of Congo and China's dominance in processing, potentially shifting the market towards a deficit.