Legal Considerations When Expanding Mining Operations in Australia

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.

Why a mining lawyer is crucial when expanding mining operations

• The best mining lawyers in Australia understand every step involved in the process of applying for a tenement and managing a tenement once it is established. By following due process rigorously, they can eliminate delays and enhance the probability of ongoing success.
• Mining lawyers can advise on any obvious or obscure risks posed to your adherence to conditions of title, governance structures, corporate and operational compliance, and tenement compliance.
• Should your tenement application be objected to, mining lawyers can also represent you in the Warden’s court, reviving hopes at the eleventh hour.
• The best firms can increase the likelihood that planning and environmental approvals will be given the green light. Incorporating insights from leading environmental consultants, they are aware of what information needs to be included and capable of presenting the argument for approval with a degree of persuasiveness that reflects the legitimate nature of your claim.
• Mining lawyers can act as your representative in discussions on important contracts and with governing authorities, bringing their negotiating skills to the fore to ensure you are protected and your cause is appropriately advanced.
• Australian mining law specialists can advise on mine work health and safety, helping you to establish and maintain best practices for reducing risk and managing liability.
• Due to industry awareness, Australia’s best mining law firms can support mutually beneficial outcomes in cases of landholder access issues and Native Title.
• A widely skilled tenement consultant or tenement management company can also assist you to develop and maintain an appropriate program of work.

Grants are driving mining innovation. Are you prepared?

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.