Mining Law

Originally published in 1987, John D. Leshy presents this scholarly study of the 1872 Mining Law as a legal treatise and history of mining in the West from the point of view of mineral exploration and production. This mining law governed the United States mining practice yet had never been changed. The Mining Law attempts to highlight the role of policy and government as well as the more obscure elements of the law which complicated mining practice in the eighties. This title will be of interest to students of Environmental Studies and policy makers.

This book explores a disciplinary matrix for the study of the law and governance concerning mining and minerals from a global perspective. The book considers the key challenges of achieving the goals of Agenda 2030 and the transition to low-carbon circular economies. The perspective encompasses the multi-faceted and highly complex interaction of multiple fields of international law and policy, soft law and standards, domestic laws and regulations as well as local levels of ordering of social relations. What emerges is a largely neglected, unsystematised and under-theorised field of study which lies at the intersection of the global economy, environmental sustainability, human rights and social equity. But it also underlies the many loopholes to address at all levels, most notably at the local level – land and land holders, artisanal miners, ecosystems, local economies, local linkages and development. The book calls for a truly cosmopolitan academic discipline to be built and identifies challenges to do so. It also sets a research agenda for further studies in this fast-changing field.

This book covers a broad spectrum of issues shaping the current paradigm of minerals sector governance. The ultimate aim of the book is to understand trends and developments in mineral law and policy occurring at international, regional, cross-border and in some selected cases at national level and also to identify some of the challenges lying ahead. With these objectives in view, the book brings together a representative selection of the most knowledgeable authors on the subject. The contributions deal with a diverse range of issues tackled from interdisciplinary perspectives. Topics are divided into five main chapters: international and comparative aspects of mineral law; actors and policies in the minerals industry; investment prospects, financial and fiscal issues; sustainable development and regional outlooks. The book aspires to serve as a useful reference for scholars, practitioners, students and all those with an interest in current developments in the areas reviewed. Elizabeth Bastida is the Rio Tinto Research Fellow and the Director of the Mineral Law and Policy Programme at the Centre for Energy, Petroleum, Mineral Law and Policy at the University of Dundee (CEPMLP/Dundee). Thomas W?lde is the Professor of International Economic, Natural Resources and Energy Law and was (until 2001) the Executive Director of CEPMLP/Dundee. He currently runs TWA, his private consultancy firm, which provides advisory services in natural resources and energy law, regulatory reform, investment promotion, state enterprise/agency appraisal and restructuring, privatisation, contract assessment, negotiation and dispute management. Janeth Warden-Fern?ndez is a Research and Teaching Fellow, an advisor of the Mineral Law and Policy Programme and the Manager of the Distance Learning Programme at CEPMLP/Dundee.

"A comprehensive study of Canadian mining law, including ownership rights, claim-staking, disposition and transfers of mining rights, interests and royalties, acquisition of rights and interests from the Crown, withdrawal of lands from mining, surface rights, and mining issues related to native lands. New chapters relating to CSR and international perspectives will be added as well."--

This monograph addresses the legal and policy issues relating to the commercial exploitation of natural resources in outer space. It begins by establishing the economic necessity and technical feasibility of space mining today, an estimate of the financial commitments required, followed by a risk analysis of a commercial mining venture in space, identifying the economic and legal risks. This leads to the recognition that the legal risks must be minimised to enable such projects to be financed. This is followed by a discussion of the principles of international space law, particularly dealing with state responsibility and international liability, as well as some of the issues arising from space mining activities. Much detail is devoted to the analysis of the content of the common heritage of mankind doctrine. The monograph then attempts to balance such interests in creating a legal and policy compromise to create a new regulatory regime.

A collection of 14 essays addressing legal problems encountered in the mining industry in Canada.