THE INTERNATIONAL BAR ASSOCIATION'S MODEL MINING DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT PROJECT

• Jurisdiction: Derecho Internacional

International Mining and Oil & Gas Law, Development, and Investment
(Apr 2011)
CHAPTER 9A
THE INTERNATIONAL BAR ASSOCIATION'S MODEL MINING DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT PROJECT
Luke Danielson
Sustainable Development Strategies Group
Colorado

LUKE DANIELSON is a practicing lawyer and President of the Sustainable Development Strategies Group. He teaches courses related to sustainable development of natural resources at the University of Denver College of Law, Simon Fraser University, and a variety of other institutions. He is a Visiting Lecturer at the Centre for Energy, Petroleum, and Mineral Law and Policy, and author of a number of publications dealing with the development impacts of natural resource projects, and the potential for such development to play a role in poverty reduction. He was for eight years a member of the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board and was a principal author of Colorado's current permitting laws for mining. He taught for three years at the University of Chile in environmental law, including a specialized doctoral course on environmental legislation applicable to mining. He was a consultant to both the Chilean Ministry of Mines and CONAMA, the national environmental agency, in the development of environmental regulations applicable to the mining sector. Professor Danielson has assisted financial institutions with identification and management of risks at large natural resource development projects in several countries, and has consulted to a number of national governments, including the Peoples Republic of China, Romania, Peru, Chile, and Cuba in development of environmental regulations applicable to natural resource issues of various types. He has also consulted to both mining companies and nongovernmental organizations. He was the Director of the Mining Policy Research Initiative of the International Development Research Centre, in charge of funding and conducting research on the social, economic, and environmental aspects of mineral development in the 23 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. He has recognized expertise in dealing with environmental, community and social concerns associated with mining development. Professor Danielson was the Director of the worldwide Mining Minerals and Sustainable Development Project at the International Institute for Environment and Development. He is a member of the Mining and Metallurgy Society of America, the International Consortium for Law and Development, a Trustee of the Lowell Institute for Mineral Resources at the University of Arizona, and a life member of the Wyoming Wildlife Federation.

Mining Law Committee

"To promote an interchange of information, ideas and views, and knowledge among individual members of the committee as well as international practitioners, as to the laws, practices and procedures affecting minerals and mining in the global legal community."

MMDA Project

• In 2009, the Mining Law Committee began working to develop a model mine development agreement.

• We have been fortunate to have sponsorship from the IBA, PDAC, World Bank, University of Dundee, ICMM

Administrative Committee

Peter Leon, Chair of Mining Committee, Weber Wentzel, South Africa

Bob Bassett. Project Coordinator. Holland & Hart, U.S.

Elizabeth Bastida, University of Dundee, UK

Michael Bourassa, Fasken Martineau. Canada

Stephane Brabant, Harbert Smith, France

Jim Cress, Holme Roberts & Owen, USA

Luke Danielson. Sustainable Development Strategies Group. U.S.

Barry Irwin, Allen Overy, Australia

Charles Lawton. UK

Howard Mann, International Institute for Sustainable Development, Canada

Rory Moriarty. Clayton Utz, Australia

Rahamat Soemadipradja, Soemadipradja & Taher. Indonesia

Approach, Principles and Objectives

• Objective is guided by principles of sustainable development and recognizing a shared interest in project success

• Framework should contribute to social license to operate

• Increased transparency of the process

• The result must be balanced

• A voluntary tool, not prescriptive

— Makes processes very important

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Some Contract Jurisdictions

Australia

China

Dominican Republic

India

Indonesia

Kyrgyz Republic

Liberia

Mali

Mongolia

Papua New Guinea

Philippines

Sierra Leone

Zambia

Methodology

• The Mining Law Committee established an Administrative Committee to manage the process. The group was made up of a number of volunteer members who represent a wide range of interests and perspectives.

• The work started from a base of existing agreements.

• The objective was to produce a web-based product, available to all, with multiple alternative clauses for key...