INTRODUCTION Contributed by: Carlos Vilhena, Pinheiro Neto Advogados
responsibilities. Most of the significant players have very high standards and are prepared to adopt all necessary measures to deal with the environmental impacts arising from their mining operations. Mining industry players in different jurisdictions want clarity of the rules and consistency in the application of these regulations at all stages, including environmental permitting and health and safety throughout the course of the opera - tion. In addition to this, stronger, better equipped and resourceful permitting authorities would add to the desired legal security in the mining indus - try. These elements – clear and stable rules, con - sistent application of the law and trustworthy permitting authorities – would certainly be ben - eficial not only for the mining industry, but also the different mining jurisdictions in the world, particularly the less-developed ones. Recent Issues More recent issues – such as health and safety, climate change, decarbonisation, human rights concerns, supply-chain standards, sustainable development policies, environmental protection and community relations, prior and informed consultation of affected people, the ability of countries to exploit their mineral wealth, and new mining and reprocessing technologies – have become essential matters that need to be appraised by mining law practitioners. The methods of relating to these features and taking a position is evolving very rapidly. For example, new ways of communicating, espe - cially through social media and modern appli - cations such as X and WhatsApp, have brought significant changes to the way information (true or false) is disseminated among society. These
new tools have introduced tremendous differ - ences in how communities, populations and groups of interest can mobilise, in favour or against a certain mining project or operation. The mining industry, which historically has been poor at communicating, now faces an incredibly more challenging environment in which to get its message across. In this context, the “G” pillar of the ESG initialism may have a major role to effectively showcase the industry’s true values and improve society’s view of mining activities, as there is plenty of room for improving matters relating to diversity and inclusion within mining authorities and com - panies. Conclusion The countries included in this guide have vast mineral potential, with swathes of territory still to be properly prospected and explored. Hopes around the globe are for more sensible, less interventionist and more business-friendly poli - cies. Populations, particularly those in less-developed countries, have high expectations. People from around the world are showing that they eagerly seek greater efficiency, fewer gov - ernment interventions, privatisations, significant reduction of bureaucracy and a strong fight against corruption and social disparities. Society and investors’ call for a low-carbon and sustainable economy is directly linked with mineral prospection and exploration, which will inevitably intersect with the improvement of standards by mining companies to cope with such demand.
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