Deep seabed mining remains legally blocked after legal scholars Aline Jaeckel and Erik van Doorn argued that the International Seabed Authority cannot approve exploitation in areas like the Clarion-Clipperton Zone until separate benefit-sharing regulations, controlled by the ISA Assembly, are adopted. The ISA’s Finance Committee only produced a first draft benefit-sharing framework in 2024, centred on a Common Heritage Fund, while about 40 countries now support a moratorium and African states oppose using shared funds for remediation. Companies including The Metals Company, Impossible Metals and Lockheed Martin are advancing CCZ plans despite this regulatory deadlock.

Copper prices briefly surged towards $13,000/t on the LME on Monday, with a 6.6% intraday jump, while CME March futures in New York swung from a $5.92/lb peak to $5.56/lb, a 6% plunge that erased Friday’s gains. The metal is up about 35% in 2025 as US tariff fears on copper under President Trump drive front‑loaded imports, even as Chinese demand softens and mine disruptions at Grasberg, Kamoa‑Kakula and El Teniente constrain supply. BloombergNEF projects energy‑transition demand could triple by 2045, risking market deficits from 2026 and potential shortages of up to 19 Mt by 2050 without major new projects and recycling.

Japan will run a month-long pilot from 11 January to 14 February to continuously lift rare-earth-rich mud from about 6,000 m depth near Minamitorishima Island, targeting 350 t/day via a full integrated deep-sea mining system 1,900 km southeast of Tokyo. The Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology will monitor environmental impacts both on the seabed and onboard while operating within Japan’s exclusive economic zone. Dewatering will occur on Minamitorishima using spin-dryer-style equipment to cut mud volume by roughly 80% before shipment to mainland refineries, following ¥40 billion of government funding since 2018.

NCE’s Top 10 most read in-depth pieces of 2025 span major UK infrastructure themes, from long-span bridge renewals and high-capacity rail corridors to complex urban tunnelling and flood defence upgrades. Interviews with project directors and design leads examine issues such as whole-life carbon in reinforced concrete, geotechnical risk allocation on large D&B contracts, and digital twins for asset monitoring. For practitioners, the list signals where peers are focusing attention: programme delivery under tight funding, resilience to extreme rainfall, and constructability on constrained brownfield sites.

Early-career civil engineers recognised as Graduates and Apprentices of the Year are calling for project delivery models that combine productivity gains with whole-life carbon reduction and climate resilience. They point to digital design tools and offsite manufacture to cut programme times while enabling low-carbon materials, and stress the need for earlier integration of environmental assessment into concept design. Their comments signal growing pressure on contractors and consultants to embed decarbonisation targets alongside traditional KPIs such as cost, time and asset performance.

Fortescue has signed a technology development agreement with Taiyuan Iron and Steel (TISCO), a subsidiary of China Baowu, to jointly explore green iron production routes using Fortescue’s ore and TISCO’s low‑carbon steelmaking capability. The partnership centres on piloting and scaling technologies such as hydrogen‑based direct reduction and renewable‑powered electric furnaces within Baowu’s existing integrated steel complexes. For miners and steel producers, the move signals growing demand for ore specifications, beneficiation strategies and process control tailored to low‑carbon ironmaking flowsheets in China.

The 20th International Conference of the Australian Flexible Pavement Association in Adelaide brought together more than 400 delegates, 50 speakers and 40 exhibitors to tackle emerging technical and delivery challenges in flexible pavements. Sessions focused on future-ready road design, including performance-based asphalt specifications, recycled materials in dense-graded and stone mastic mixes, and data-driven asset management for high-volume freight corridors. For practitioners, the event signalled accelerating adoption of advanced binders, additives and mechanistic-empirical design tools in Australian pavement practice.

Geoquest Australia is deploying turn-key geotechnical systems to reduce geo-risk and weather-related damage to transport infrastructure under rising sea levels, higher rainfall intensity and more frequent extreme heat and fire events. The company is focusing on sustainably produced ground improvement and erosion control products, including stabilisation solutions for road embankments and coastal assets, to limit scour, slippage and pavement failure during intense storms. For asset owners, the approach points to integrated design–supply packages that combine geosynthetics, drainage and soil reinforcement to extend asset life and cut maintenance interventions.

Grecian Magnesite is adding a fully electric, battery-powered Aramine L440B loader to its Koutzi underground magnesite mine in Evia, Greece, to help ramp towards the site’s ~50,000 t/y design capacity of pre-concentrated ore. The new L440B will work alongside an existing Aramine L140B, expanding the battery LHD fleet for production and development headings without increasing diesel equipment underground. For mine planners and ventilation engineers, the move signals continued adoption of battery loaders to cut heat and diesel particulates while sustaining output in confined workings.

Epiroc’s 66 t Minetruck MT66 S eDrive has begun a six‑month performance trial at Gold Fields’ Granny Smith mine, hauling ore at the Wallaby underground operation in Western Australia’s Laverton District. The diesel-electric truck is being benchmarked in Granny Smith’s existing truck fleet under real production conditions, with Epiroc specialists stationed on site for the full trial period. Outcomes will focus on fuel burn, cycle times and maintenance behaviour in deep-level, long‑haul stoping, informing future fleet replacement and electrification strategies.

Engineers Against Poverty chair Richard Threlfall calls for the engineering, infrastructure and construction profession to lead on cutting whole‑life emissions and controlling capital cost overruns in major civils programmes. He argues that effective infrastructure governance must move beyond compliance to active stewardship of carbon, cost and social outcomes, with engineers shaping procurement models and performance metrics rather than leaving them to financiers and policymakers. For practitioners, this signals greater responsibility for transparent cost baselines, carbon accounting and value-for-money evidence on large public works.

Liontown Resources has appointed Vaughan Harris as the first Tjiwarl community apprentice at its Kathleen Valley lithium project in Western Australia, a key site being developed as a hard-rock lithium operation. The apprenticeship, created in partnership with the Tjiwarl Aboriginal Corporation, is structured to provide trade qualifications while Harris works on-site during construction and ramp-up. For mining engineers and project managers, this signals a move towards embedding local Indigenous employment and skills development directly into project delivery and long-term operations planning.

More than 60% of global demand for critical minerals is now met via international trade, with the IEF warning that copper and nickel could face material shortfalls by the mid-2030s as total demand for copper, nickel, cobalt, lithium and rare earths climbs from 28 Mt in 2021 to nearly 41 Mt by 2040. EV copper use alone is forecast to jump from 200,000 t in 2020 to 3.4 Mt by 2035, while Indonesia supplies over half of nickel, the DRC about 70% of cobalt, and China over 90% of rare earth refining. More than 600 policies now target critical mineral supply chains, with the US, Canada and Australia incentivising exploration, refining and recycling, and Indonesia, Chile and Peru pushing in-country value addition and export controls.

US federal critical minerals policy in 2026 is set to move beyond rare earths to high‑risk inputs such as antimony and tungsten, where the US currently relies heavily on China, Tajikistan and Russia for supply into defence alloys, munitions and flame‑retardant applications. Washington is expected to prioritise domestic processing capacity over new mines, backing alternatives to traditional smelting and refining that cut emissions and withstand high US power prices. Intensifying competition for electricity from AI data centres will put aluminium, copper, magnesium and titanium processors under pressure, favouring technologies that materially lower energy use and total production costs.

Eldorado Gold is expanding electrified underground load-and-haul at the Lamaque Complex in Val-d’Or, Québec, with an order for 10 Sandvik battery-electric vehicles and 10 charging systems, including five TH550B 50‑t trucks and five Toro LH518iB loaders. The first two TH550B trucks were delivered in October, with the remaining three trucks and five loaders to follow, supporting a fully electric primary haulage fleet in key production areas. For mine planners and ventilation engineers, the BEVs are expected to cut diesel emissions and heat load, enabling tighter development in deeper zones.

Landmark Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 has received royal assent, giving ministers new powers to accelerate major roads, rail schemes, reservoirs, windfarms and grid connections, and underpinning Labour’s target of 1.5 million new homes. Key measures include a Nature Restoration Fund for centralised biodiversity offsetting, streamlined judicial review with only one court challenge allowed on meritless major project cases, and reformed local authority planning committees pushing smaller schemes to officers. The Act also simplifies EV charger approvals, eases compulsory purchase, and offers up to £250/year electricity bill discounts for 10 years to households near new pylons.

United Utilities is preparing for AMP8 (2025-2030) with a capital works programme several times larger than previous five-year cycles, forcing a shift in how it delivers major water and wastewater infrastructure. Directors are signalling earlier contractor involvement, more alliancing-style frameworks and greater use of offsite manufacture to manage programme risk across multiple large treatment upgrades and network resilience schemes. For geotechnical and civil teams, this points to higher volumes of parallel design-and-build work, tighter standardisation of earthworks and structures, and stronger pressure on delivery productivity.

Early testwork at ABx Group’s Deep Leads ionic adsorption clay rare earths project in northern Tasmania indicates that low-acid, ambient-temperature heap leaching may be technically viable, offering a simpler alternative to conventional tank leach circuits. Column leach trials on bulk samples are being used to assess percolation, recovery and impurity deportment, with a focus on desorption of magnet rare earths such as neodymium and praseodymium. If scaled, the approach could reduce reagent consumption, cut capital tied up in agitated tanks, and suit shallow, free-dig clay deposits typical of the licence area.

Chromafora’s pilot-scale thiosulphate gold leaching process in Sweden has achieved up to 92% gold recovery without cyanide, in a programme formally reported to and approved by innovation agency and co-funder Vinnova. The process uses thiosulphate lixiviant chemistry instead of sodium cyanide, targeting refractory and complex ores where conventional cyanidation underperforms. For mine operators, the results signal a potential route to maintain high recoveries while reducing cyanide handling infrastructure, permitting complexity and long-term tailings liabilities.

Plans for the next wave of UK offshore wind farms are being used to argue for onshoring key materials such as monopile steel, transition pieces and high-voltage export cables to domestic fabrication yards. Proponents say UK-based rolling mills, tower factories and cable plants could shorten 220–300km supply chains, cut transport emissions and reduce currency and logistics risk on multi‑GW projects. For civil and marine contractors, a stronger local supply base would influence foundation design choices, port upgrade priorities and contracting strategies for serial installation campaigns.

Metso will use the Future Minerals Forum 2026 in Riyadh (13–15 January) to showcase sustainable processing technologies for energy transition minerals, including copper, green steel feedstocks, gold and phosphate. CEO Sami Takaluoma, Minerals President Piia Karhu and Services President Heikki will lead panels and roundtables on end-to-end flowsheet optimisation, from comminution and beneficiation to service models. For mine planners and plant designers, the focus signals continued OEM push on lower-energy circuits and lifecycle service contracts in Middle Eastern and African growth markets.

Airbridge has secured the maximum A$1.5 million grant under Western Australia’s Carbon Innovation Grants Program Round 2, run by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, to expand its carbon capture and utilisation technology. The funding will support scaling from an operational pilot plant in Perth into heavy industrial applications in the Pilbara, targeting large mining and processing emitters. For miners, this signals near-term opportunities to trial point-source capture and CO₂ utilisation on existing fixed plant rather than only at new-build facilities.

McLaren Property has appointed McLaren Construction Midlands and North as main contractor for the £160m Upper Brook Street purpose-built student accommodation scheme in Manchester, delivering 272,854 sq ft across two blocks of nine and 23 storeys with 737 bedspaces (288 studios, 449 cluster rooms). Early works include completion of ground clearance, 219 piles and concrete bases, and installation of two tower cranes, with slip-form rigs now being assembled for a concrete frame using fully unitised prefabricated panels with integrated brickwork and windows. Off-site bathroom pods from Walker Modular and targets of BREEAM Excellent and EPC A point to a highly industrialised build, with completion aimed for the 2028 academic year.

BHP’s $840 million investment to expand underground operations and upgrade surface infrastructure at Olympic Dam signals renewed confidence in South Australia’s copper sector amid surging energy-transition demand. The state is advancing large-scale projects across the Gawler Craton and Curnamona Province, including IOCG deposits near Prominent Hill and Carrapateena, supported by existing 200,000+ tpa smelting capacity at Olympic Dam. For geotechs and miners, the focus is shifting to deeper block cave and sublevel stoping designs, higher-throughput hoisting systems, and power and water infrastructure capable of supporting multi-decade expansions.

A new vanadium processing facility planned for Western Australia is boosting confidence in scaling domestic supply of vanadium pentoxide for steel alloys and vanadium redox flow batteries. Australia already holds the world’s largest share of economic demonstrated vanadium resources, concentrated in titanomagnetite deposits in WA and the NT, but currently exports most material as raw or semi-processed product. The move to local downstream processing signals opportunities for miners and metallurgists in hydrometallurgical circuit design, impurity management and long-duration energy storage markets.

Lower Thames Crossing, a proposed 23km road scheme including a 4.2km twin‑bore tunnel under the Thames, is ramping up local skills programmes to secure the workforce needed for delivery. National Highways and its delivery partners are targeting school leavers, apprentices and career‑changers in Kent and Essex with training in tunnelling, heavy civils and digital construction tools such as BIM. The initiative aims to build a locally based labour pool for large‑diameter tunnelling, complex groundworks and long‑span viaduct construction, reducing reliance on transient specialist crews.

Boss Energy has withdrawn its 2021 enhanced feasibility study for the Honeymoon in-situ recovery uranium project in South Australia and is preparing a fully updated development plan. The original EFS was based on restarting the mothballed plant and wellfields using legacy infrastructure, but recent drilling, higher uranium prices and changed cost assumptions have made those parameters obsolete. An overhaul of process design, production schedule and capital estimates is likely, with implications for wellfield layout, resin-in-pulp or ion-exchange circuit selection, and long-term groundwater management.

Collaboration between Western Australian mining industry bodies and local government is being strengthened ahead of 2026 to manage shifting regulatory, workforce and infrastructure demands. Stakeholders are aligning on issues such as approvals timeframes for new pits and tailings facilities, skills pipelines for autonomous haulage and remote operations centres, and long-term planning for regional roads and power networks servicing major iron ore and lithium hubs. For engineers, closer coordination could mean clearer permitting pathways, more predictable infrastructure funding, and earlier input into standards affecting pit design, waste storage and closure obligations.

Solarh2e is rolling out SANY SYG3 battery-electric heavy trucks for minerals haulage in Australia, targeting zero-emission freight on mine-to-port and pit-to-plant routes traditionally dominated by diesel prime movers. The SYG3 platform is being integrated with high-capacity charging infrastructure and solar-linked power supply, aiming to support multi-shift operations without range anxiety. For mine operators, the shift demands rethinking haul road power access, charging bay layout, and grid/renewables integration rather than only swapping out existing diesel fleets.

Indonesia, which produced 2.2 million tonnes of nickel in 2024, is proposing a 34% cut to 250 million tonnes of ore in its 2026 Work Plan and Budget, a move Macquarie says could trim global supply by 35% and push prices back towards US$18,000–20,000 per tonne from today’s US$14,376. Despite this, BMO’s Helen Amos still projects a 240,000-tonne surplus next year, while Nornickel forecasts 275,000 tonnes, signalling continued oversupply. Falling laterite grades and rising environmental constraints in Indonesia and the Philippines point to higher costs and potentially stronger long-term positioning for lower-footprint sulphide projects such as Canada Nickel’s Crawford deposit.

Updated planning guidance on flood risk and coastal change in England is tightening expectations on sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) for new developments, with ADS UK manager Stuart Crisp outlining how designers must now evidence runoff control, exceedance routing and long-term maintenance. The guidance pushes wider use of components such as attenuation tanks, permeable pavements and swales to limit post-development discharge to greenfield rates and manage surface water on site. For geotechnical and civil teams, this means earlier integration of SuDS into masterplanning, closer coordination with ground investigation, and more rigorous adoption of CIRIA SuDS Manual principles.

Retrofitting existing infrastructure is presented as a critical response to climate change impacts now clearly visible after 25 years of civil engineering practice, from more frequent flooding to heat-related material degradation. The argument centres on upgrading bridges, highways and drainage assets rather than wholesale replacement, using measures such as additional scour protection, increased freeboard, upsized culverts and improved thermal detailing of pavements and expansion joints. For practitioners, this points to prioritising asset condition assessment, climate-adjusted design checks and staged strengthening works within constrained maintenance budgets.

Global coal demand is forecast by the IEA to rise 0.5% in 2025 to a record 8.85 billion tonnes, with US coal use jumping 8% after 15 years of roughly 6% annual declines as higher gas prices, slower coal plant retirements and federal policy support lift output. Weak wind conditions in Europe are also sustaining coal burn, while surging electricity demand in China, India and other fast-growing economies keeps global consumption elevated. The IEA expects demand to plateau and then edge down only slowly through 2030, leaving long-term decarbonisation pathways under pressure.

Hypex Bio has signed a long-term group agreement for Franzefoss Minerals AS to adopt its hydrogen peroxide-based explosive solutions across multiple quarry and limestone operations in Norway. The emulsion system replaces conventional ANFO and nitrate-based products, aiming to cut CO₂ and NOx emissions at the blast face and reduce residual nitrates in groundwater around benches and pit walls. For drill-and-blast engineers, the shift may require recalibrating charge design, sleep times, and initiation sequences to match the different energy profile and gas volumes of peroxide-based formulations.

One in three Scottish plumbing firms plans to stop taking apprentices over the next three years, with a SNIPEF survey citing limited funding support (67%), high wage costs (65%) and supervision costs (47%) as key barriers. SNIPEF’s Apprenticeships Under Pressure report warns this could leave Scotland short of plumbing and heating skills needed for public safety and building decarbonisation work. The move contrasts with England’s new £725m package for 50,000 extra apprenticeships and removal of the 5% co-investment for SMEs training under‑25s.

A 184-panel rooftop solar array on York Minster has generated over 42,000kWh in six months, meeting more than 80% of the cathedral’s peak demand, saving nearly £20,000 in electricity costs and offsetting eight tonnes of CO₂. Specialist installer Associated Clean Technologies used SolarEdge DC-Optimised Inverters with S‑Series Power Optimizers so each module operates independently around shading from pinnacles and towers. Fire risk on the historic structure is managed via SafeDC rapid DC voltage reduction, Sense Connect hotspot detection and a Firefighter Gateway linked to the Minster’s alarm system for full-array shutdown.

Government proposals to revise the National Planning Policy Framework include a presumption in favour of housing near railway stations, support for high-rise residential blocks in urban areas, and widening the Building Safety Levy exemption from schemes of 10 homes to 50 homes (or from 30 to 120 student bed spaces). Smaller sites would be exempt from biodiversity net gain rules, and “swift bricks” for nesting swifts are set to be embedded in policy. The 123‑page consultation, posing 225 questions and running to 10 March 2026, keeps national policy non-statutory, prompting mixed views on planning certainty.

Major iron ore developments in regions outside Western Australia, including South Australia’s Braemar province and Queensland’s emerging magnetite hubs, are positioning themselves to supply higher-grade feedstock for green iron and direct reduced iron (DRI) routes. Projects targeting >67% Fe magnetite concentrates and low-impurity ores are being designed around renewable power, proximity to existing rail and deepwater ports, and potential hydrogen-based processing. For geotechnical and civil teams, the shift implies more complex tailings and water management for fine-grained magnetite, plus new infrastructure corridors in previously undeveloped terrains.

Pilbara Minerals is ramping up its P1000 expansion at the Pilgangoora lithium operation, targeting 1Mtpa spodumene concentrate capacity from the current P680 base while integrating a six‑megawatt solar farm into site power. Chief executive Dale Henderson details staged debottlenecking of crushing and processing circuits and incremental upgrades to tailings and water management to support higher throughput. For engineers, the project signals continued demand for pit development, haul road upgrades and process plant optimisation in the Pilbara hard‑rock lithium sector.

Watkin Jones, backed by Maslow Capital, has acquired a Malago Road site in Bristol to deliver a 484-bed purpose-built student accommodation scheme with an estimated £100m gross development value, comprising studios and 40 non-ensuite rooms across three blocks. Part of the scheme will be taken under nomination by the University of Bristol due to its proximity to the new Temple Quarter campus. The project targets BREEAM Excellent, EPC B and WiredScore Silver, signalling higher performance expectations for building fabric, services and digital connectivity in PBSA assets.

Fortescue is accelerating its “Real Zero” strategy across Pilbara iron ore operations such as Christmas Creek, targeting zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions without offsets by 2030 through global partnerships on green haul trucks, renewable power and hydrogen. The miner is trialling battery-electric and hydrogen-powered haul fleets to replace diesel, and planning large-scale solar and wind integration with high-voltage transmission to its remote sites. For mine planners and process engineers, the shift implies redesign of pit haul profiles, power distribution, and maintenance regimes around high‑capacity electrified mobile equipment.

A £40M plan to regenerate Northfleet Harbourside with a new Ebbsfleet United FC stadium and thousands of riverside homes is facing strong objections over lead contamination and freight disruption on the Thames. Objectors warn that disturbing historic industrial fill could mobilise legacy lead in soils and sediments, while new residential blocks and matchday traffic could constrain wharf access and rail-connected aggregates and cement terminals. Planners will need robust ground investigation, remediation strategies and safeguarded freight corridors to avoid compromising both public health and critical construction materials supply.

SaltX has reported successful pilot tests of its Electric Arc Calciner (EAC) on carbonate iron ore (siderite) from VA Erzberg in Austria, showing effective high‑temperature conversion of carbonate‑rich feed using electrical rather than fossil‑fuel heat. The EAC process targets decarbonisation of traditional calcination by electrifying the thermal step, which is central to siderite ore upgrading and other carbonate processing. For mine operators and plant designers, this points to potential retrofits or new-build plants where high-temperature kilns could be replaced or supplemented with grid- or renewables-powered electric calciners.

ABB has been selected to design and supply the complete electrical infrastructure for Vulcan Energy’s Phase One Lionheart geothermal lithium project in Germany’s Upper Rhine Valley, which will co-locate renewable power generation with lithium extraction and processing. The integrated plant will produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM) for the European EV supply chain, requiring high-reliability power distribution, grid connection and process electrification. For engineers, the project signals growing demand for utility-scale, renewables-based electrical systems tightly coupled to hydrometallurgical lithium circuits.

Availability of 411 purpose-built studio rooms on Newcastle’s Heber Street has been delayed by a year after Downing’s Building Safety Regulator Gateway 2 approval took 42 weeks, shifting construction start to March 2026 and first occupation to September 2028. The Simpson Haugh-designed block forms a single building in three elements of 10, 12 and 14 storeys and targets BREEAM Excellent with embedded sustainability measures. As the final phase of the Downing Plaza redevelopment of the former Newcastle & Brown Brewery site, the delay affects capacity planning alongside the existing 1,800+ student beds and 183-bed hotel already delivered.

Galliford Try’s Water Technologies team has secured Phase 1 of South West Water’s continuous water quality monitoring programme, installing 86 automatic samplers across wastewater assets in Devon and Cornwall to meet Section 82 Environment Act obligations. Sensors from RS Hydro will measure dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH, turbidity and ammonia both upstream and downstream of storm overflows and sewage treatment works, with data due for public release in 2030. 3D scanning and GIS integration will be used to optimise site selection, layout planning and installation logistics.

AustStab’s 2025 Conference in Adelaide marked 30 years of the association’s work on in situ pavement recycling and stabilisation, signalling a more mature approach to reusing existing granular bases and bound layers rather than full-depth reconstruction. International experts and local contractors presented case studies on foamed bitumen, cementitious binders and lime stabilisation to improve subgrade performance, moisture resistance and fatigue life. For designers and asset managers, the focus was on life-cycle cost, carbon reduction from reduced quarry haulage, and performance-based specifications for recycled pavements.

Sustainability Victoria is marking 20 years as the state’s lead agency for accelerating sustainability in infrastructure, including large-scale use of recycled aggregates and reclaimed asphalt in Victorian road projects. Since 2005 it has shifted policy into on-ground practice by funding demonstration pavements, supporting specifications for recycled content in roadbase and asphalt, and backing circular-economy procurement across councils and state agencies. For civil and materials engineers, its programmes have normalised secondary materials in pavements and structures, de-risking adoption through trials, performance data and standards support.

Fortescue has received two Progress Rail EMD SD70J‑BB battery-electric locomotives, described as the world’s largest, for deployment on its heavy-haul iron ore network in the Pilbara. The units are designed for 100 per cent battery operation, integrating regenerative braking on long downhill runs from mine to port to recharge onboard packs and cut diesel use. For rail and mine planners, the key question will be how these high-mass, high-axle-load locomotives perform on existing Pilbara track geometry, gradients and maintenance regimes.

Beijing’s April export controls on seven rare earth elements, followed by a now-suspended October expansion covering additional REEs, magnets and lithium battery materials, have forced Western buyers to reroute critical minerals via longer, chokepoint-heavy sea lanes such as the Red Sea and primary canals. Trading houses including BGN Group, Traxys and Gerald Group are acting as integrated maritime logistics platforms, combining shallow, infrastructure-poor African and Latin American load ports with highly automated deepwater hubs using mixed fleets of smaller bulk, multipurpose and VLGC-capable vessels. Global container lines like Maersk and Evergreen, which has ordered 14 LNG dual-fuel containerships for Asia–Europe, now directly influence lead times, freight costs and emissions for lithium chemicals, magnet alloys and battery intermediates moving to refineries and OEMs in Europe, North America and allied Asia.