Many companies find that they have identified good land.
They have the people power, the equipment and the relationship with contractors to launch into extensive mineral exploration or mining operations that could represent the future of the company or the beginnings of a 50-year mine.
They’re backed by investors, who have their own expectations as stakeholders and who, through their investment, are empowering a promising future.
As everything shapes up in a preferable way and all the ducks form a row, it’s important to take a few moments to consider the situation in all its intricacy.
Lured on by a bright future and focused on the technical aspects of your plans, it can be hard to anticipate the legal obstacles you might encounter. Heading forward at breakneck speed, it is not unprecedented to fail to plan for such obstacles, and to find that your vision of a bright future falls apart under their influence.
If this happens, it will result in difficult discussions with investors. It might also result in difficulties in your own finance books, as money has already been poured into preparations for success. The boardroom discussions will have been a wasteful expenditure on human resources.
By contracting the services of a high-quality, industry-trusted mining lawyer, a mining company can achieve two things. One, they can better assess the plausibility of success in advance. Two, they can enhance their likelihood of success from the outset.
Recently, the Federal Government announced $12 million in grants for companies who wish to commercialise their innovations.
Some of this fund will go towards mining innovation; for example, a Western Australian company has recently been granted nearly a million to commercialise its highly innovative and safety-enhancing drilling sampling system.
Government grants of this nature have the ability to drive innovation within the industry, increasing efficiency and enhancing productivity.
All receptive mining companies will have an opportunity to utilise any of the technologies that emerge as a result of these grants if they are willing to invest and have their money in the right place.
It will remain the prerogative of all mining companies and mining directors to assess the lasting benefit of these technologies, against the possibility that they represent a temporary solution or fad.
Should you wish to utilise the green shoots brought about by this new initiative, or to generally expand and grow your mining operations in 2022 and beyond, it is of vital importance to ensure that your legal affairs and tenements are in working order.
It is a prerequisite to leveraging these technologies that you are able to operate free of hindrance. It does not make sense to invest in these products without also ensuring there is a clear path ahead of you to utilise them to their full potential.
Hetherington’s legal services in the mining and resources industry can ensure that you are prepared to harness the incoming technology advancements, by managing your tenement applications, planning and environmental approvals for mining, and compliance.