Mining Exploration Agreements

Guide offering comments and suggestions upon matters relating to the negotiation and drafting of exploration agreements and to confidentiality, royalties, and letters of intent as they relate to the mining exploration business. Topics are based mainly on Canadian situations and Canadian law but are relevant to areas outside Canada. The guide covers formation of an agreement; litigation; confidential information; property interests; royalty interests; property acquisition agreements; the joint venture relationship; and the farm-in/joint venture agreement. Appendices include articles on creating a financially rewarding royalty and non-participation and default provisions in mining agreements. A glossary is included.

The Third Uni ted Nations Conference on the Lawof the Sea is preparing rules far the establishment of an international legal regime governing the exploration and exploitation of the resources of the international seabed. The Draft Convention on the Law of the Sea (Informal Text) of 27 August 1980 which has so far been the result of the negotiations during the preceding sessions of the Conference, provides for a so-called "parallel system" under which an international "Enterprise" as weIl as national private or state-owned companies will be granted access to the resources of the international seabed under the control of an International Seabed Authority. The Draft Convention also envisages the condusion of joint venture agreements between the international Enterprise and national companies or consortia, and encourages such cooperation through grant ing various incentives. Such joint ventures will probably play an important part in making the international Enterprise operative in the early years of its existence. At the Conference concerns have been expressed whether and when the Enterprise as a newcomer would be in a position to start seabed mining and to compete effectively with the national companies. The Draft Convention provides for a number of ways and means to enable the Enterprise to develop its technological and financial capabilities for deep sea mining as early as possible.

The Business of Mining complete set of three Focus books will provide readers with a holistic all-embracing appraisal of the analytical tools available for assessing the economic viability of prospective mines. Each volume has a discrete focus. This first volume presents an overview of the mining business, followed by an analysis of project variables and risk, an overall coverage of the royalty agreements, pricing and contract systems followed by a final chapter on accounting standards and practises for the minerals industry. The books were written primarily for undergraduate applied geologists, mining engineers and extractive metallurgists and those pursuing course-based postgraduate programs in mineral economics. However, the complete series will also be an extremely useful reference text for practicing mining professionals as well as for consultant geologists, mining engineers or primary metallurgists.