INTRODUCTION Contributed by: Roberta Bilotti Demange and Marina Bertucci Ferreira, Pinheiro Neto Advogados
Challenges for the Mining Industry in the Face of New Demands As the world moves from a place of adjustment to one of consolidation in response to new demands, challenges for the mining industry continue to evolve. Mining companies around the world are seeking new opportunities and trying to adapt. Newcomers remain active, and established players have incorpo - rated higher standards as part of their core strategies, increasingly focused on establishing and enhancing trust with stakeholders, including governments and communities. Recent changes over the past years have fostered the implementation of new technologies to reduce costs, increase production efficiency, and reprocess and extract minerals from tailings and stockpiles. What was once driven by experimentation is now driven by economic viability, as mining companies have adopt - ed innovative, sustainable and more efficient produc - tion methods. From a macroeconomic standpoint, economies and mining companies that have traditionally relied on conventional minerals such as iron ore and gold are observing an ever-increasing appetite of investors for green minerals projects. Traditional base metals play - ers are keen for diversification towards green miner - als, which may be perceived as a reaction to society’s and the market’s call for the adaptation of the mineral industry to ESG principles. Other stakeholders with new technologies such as reprocessing tailings and bio-mining are arriving. New practices are no longer perceived as transitional responses but as permanent features of the sector. The transition of the global energy matrix towards more renewable sources, the rising claims for low- carbon, sustainability goals, supply-chain traceability requirements and new technologies will also require improvements in standards for mining companies. The mining industry plays a major role in the energy transition and this role is now broadly recognised and closely scrutinised, a trend that will persist in the years to come. These trends illustrate very well that the mining indus - try currently faces several questions, in particular
those arising from increased environmental, social and community-related concerns, and the new technolo - gies flourishing in the mineral production chains. The scenario is more challenging than ever for the mineral sector. Consequently, the role of the mining lawyer is likewise more demanding, expanding beyond techni - cal compliance to include strategic, regulatory and risk-management considerations. Legislative and Regulatory Changes Many countries around the world introduce, from time to time, significant legislative or regulatory changes to their mineral, royalty and tax legislation. From an economic viewpoint, commodity and min - eral price changes can affect the mineral sector in many ways. The availability of funds for exploration projects, investment decisions for the development of new operations or the expansion of existing ones, job creation, or new technologies for processing and extracting minerals can all be influenced by the fluc - tuation of commodity and mineral prices in different ways. Over the years, the influence that prices have had in different markets and how they can affect coun - tries and companies is clear to see. Dealing with new technologies, climate concerns, decarbonisation, environmental requirements, com - munity relations, human rights matters, health and safety, and regulatory, tax, financing, social issues and geopolitics, among many other subjects, makes this high-risk, long-term industry a more daring prospect than ever before. Therefore, mining lawyers need to keep on top of the evolutions and features of a fast-changing environ - ment and global order, the better to assist their clients as they navigate through a constantly changing world. Established Mining Law A deep understanding of the more traditional min - ing law matters – such as the different legal systems, sources of law, ownership of mineral resources, role of the state, legal nature of mineral rights, granting of mineral rights and security of tenure, just to name a few – remains a fundamental requirement for lawyers who wish to provide their clients with premium, top- notch services.
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