President Donald Trump on April 24, 2025, issued an executive order, "Unleashing America's Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources" (the EO), that aims to promote the development of offshore critical minerals in the oceans...more
On March 20, 2025, the Trump administration invoked emergency powers in an Executive Order (EO) entitled Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production, aiming to accelerate domestic mineral mining and processing....more
Critical minerals are the backbone of modern technologies and national security, powering everything from advanced semiconductors and electric vehicle batteries to missile guidance systems and renewable energy infrastructure....more
On 19 July 2024, the European Union (EU) and the Republic of Serbia (“Serbia”) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) creating a strategic partnership on sustainable raw materials, battery value chains and electric...more
By now, most Canadian mining companies ought to be aware of the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act (the Act) which came into force on January 1, 2024. The Act imposes a reporting obligation...more
The road to decarbonisation - From the copper belts of Zambia and the lithium and cobalt deposits in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to the manganese mines in Gabon, the African continent holds much of the promise...more
The Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”) has garnered criticism from the European Union (“EU”) due in large part to its domestic sourcing requirements. Some in Canada have echoed this criticism, including Michael Harvey, vice...more
The Australian Government recently released its Critical Minerals Strategy 2023–2030 (CM Strategy). BACKGROUND - Australia holds some of the world’s largest repositories of cobalt, lithium and vanadium — elements critical...more
Welcome to The On-Ramp, the newsletter published by Venable's Autonomous and Connected Mobility team. The On-Ramp explores legal and policy developments in the world of autonomous vehicles, smart infrastructure, and emerging...more
Recent policy and regulatory developments have shown that governments and businesses around the world are increasingly focused on consolidating their competitive positions in the green industrial revolution. Significant...more
The U.S. Department of the Treasury and IRS have released several pieces of guidance regarding the tax incentives for clean vehicles provided under Sections 30D (new clean vehicle credit), 25E (previously owned vehicle...more
Critical raw materials, such as rare earths, lithium and cobalt, are essential to the energy transition and to modern and green technologies. As States compete to secure these materials, there is an increasing importance to...more
In recent months, the critical minerals sector has been at the top of government legislative and regulatory agendas and has been subject to substantial media attention. "Critical minerals" is a generic term that refers to a...more
Last week, President Biden invoked the Defense Production Act (“DPA”) to expand domestic production of certain critical minerals involved in the manufacture of large capacity batteries. The five minerals specifically...more
There has been positive growth in the Australian mining sector and a number of recent developments since our last mining update. Despite the impacts of COVID-19, Australia’s mining sector has largely remained in a position of...more
There has been positive growth in the Australian mining sector and many recent developments since our last mining update. A summary of the key national developments follows. ...more
As mining operations around the world are impacted by the significant disruptions caused by COVID-19, the Western Australian mining sector, like the rest of Australia, has been facing restrictions and interruptions in its...more
Implications of COVID-19 on the Australian Mining Industry - May 2020 The impacts of COVID-19 have been felt globally, including in the Australia’s mining industry. Travel restrictions for necessary personnel, interruptions...more
Mounting pressure on businesses to gain clarity on their social and environmental footprint will challenge corporate operations in 2019. New risks are present but there are also opportunities for companies willing actively to...more
On October 31, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted a final rule (available here) that overhauls its existing disclosure requirements for mining company issuers, including royalty companies. The new...more
Recent actions by the Trump administration have focused on encouraging U.S. based development of identified “Critical Minerals,” which could lead to significant policy changes designed to invigorate domestic mining activity....more