NOT MINE, YOURS BUT OURS: A COMMENTARY ON THE NEED FOR A NEW KIND OF COLLABORATION TO FACILITATE A RESPONSIVE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR THE IMPACT OF DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES (LABOR/LOCAL CONTENT)

• Jurisdiction: Derecho Internacional

International Mining and Oil & Gas Law, Development, and Investment (Apr 2019)
CHAPTER 8A
NOT MINE, YOURS BUT OURS: A COMMENTARY ON THE NEED FOR A NEW KIND OF COLLABORATION TO FACILITATE A RESPONSIVE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR THE IMPACT OF DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES (LABOR/LOCAL CONTENT)
Nneoma Veronica Nwogu
The World Bank
Washington, DC

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NNEOMA VERONICA NWOGU is a senior counsel to the World Bank and has provided legal representation for the Bank's financing of projects in Africa and Middle-East regions. She currently provides legal representation on corporate matters related to Development Finance including legal advisory services on specified Funds. She co-leads the Bank's Legal Vice Presidency Working Group on Disruptive Technology and Innovation and serves as a legal advisor to the Energy and Extractives Global Practice of the organization. Nneoma conceived and led the African Mining Legislation Atlas (www.a-mla.org) project at the World Bank in coordination with the African Union Commission, African Legal Support Facility, Natural Resource Governance Institute, Columbia Center for Sustainable Investment, University of Dundee, University of Cape Town, Hogan Lovells, Latham & Watkins, VdA, and various other African and global partners. She has featured as a speaker at the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development in Geneva, OECD policy dialogue on Natural Resource based development in Paris, Mining Indaba in Cape Town, Forum on Energy and Extractives in Nairobi; Disruptive Technologies in the Mining Sector Workshop in Washington DC; Mines and Money in London; Stockholm Forum on Peace and Development; Nordic Africa Institute, and Future of Mining Americas in Denver etc. Prior to joining the Bank, she was an international business transactions Associate at Hogan Lovells LLP in Washington DC. Ms. Nwogu received her BA from Wellesley College, an MPhil from Oxford University and JD from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She has served on the board of the Washington Foreign Law Society. She is a term member of the United States Council on Foreign Relations and an adjunct Professor at the Washington College of Law, American University.

Innovation in mining is not as nascent as the recent and intense upswing in the sector's discussion fora suggests. What is driving the increased chatter is the unprecedented disruptive nature of these innovations. Innovation usually involves novel technology that is marked by a thought-through intent to drive change that will have meaningful and broad societal impact in economic and social spheres at scale. Disruptive technologies present as a subset of innovative technologies that, are not only impactful but, cause a restructuring of how systems are organized. Consequently, disruptive technologies in the mining sector go beyond general innovation-based impact to a restructuring of what is mined, who mines, and how minerals are extracted and sold.

Naturally, this restructuring is driven by the private sector. Increase in the demand for metals that support a low carbon future, such as lithium, graphite, copper and cobalt, which is forecast to double by 2030;¹ the entrance of influential non-traditional players in the sector such as consumer brands and tech companies,² the use of advanced robotics to facilitate more efficient and safe mineral extraction;³ application of blockchain technology to eliminate friction in information exchange that allows for direct sale to end users without intermediaries or chain of custody certifications are some examples of the technology-driven innovations that are fast becoming disruptive.

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