Experts from Roscoe Postle and Mayer Brown discussed global reporting standards, outlined the mining lifecycle and talked essential legal due diligence in a comprehensive overview at Mayer Brown’s London offices on 30 May.
The inner workings of the Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC), National Instrument 43101 (NI 43101) and even the new Russian national mining code (NAEN1, December 2011) were explained, and speakers drew from their international project expertise.
Deborah McCombe, P. Geo., Executive Vice President, Business Development at Roscoe Postle Associates, described the difference between NI 43101 as a securities law versus JORC as a policy, and offered insights as to how the revision of the latter may materialise as a more prescriptive standard in line with other codes.
Graham Clow, P.Eng., President and CEO, Principal Mining Engineer at Roscoe Postle Associates, took us through the full project lifecycle from initial exploration to mine closure and reclamation. He matched the technical stages of mine development to capital requirements and addressed “where things go wrong” from ore grade dilution and production rates to costs and related external pressures. His charting of the emotional stages of project development (beginning with “wild enthusiasm”) drew great amusement from the audience.
Jonathan Hosie, a partner in the Construction & Engineering practice at Mayer Brown with expertise in the development of natural resource assets in the mining sector, described the intricacies of vital contracts involved in project assembly from government concerns – royalties and taxes, local employment, reclamation and environmental requirements and opportunities for stabilisation clauses in investment agreements – to title ownerships and infrastructure development agreements and EPC/EPCM contracts.
WIM (UK) thanks all attendees and speakers. Please see presentation slides below.