In foreign jurisdictions, it is often necessary for outside mining companies to enter into a mineral concession, development, investment or similar agreement with local government authorities prior to investing significant amounts in exploration or mining activities. Lawyers at Latham have extensive experience in preparing and negotiating such agreements.
The firm is able to draw extensively on its experience in comparable jurisdictions when working in a country where few precedents are available. Latham's team is sensitive to the challenges of negotiating directly with governments, and prides itself on adding value through both front-line involvement and background support.
Latham has particular expertise in assisting metals and mining clients to manage the political and legal risks associated with investments in high-risk countries. While a strong, balanced concession agreement is often an essential source of risk mitigation, the firm believes that, as a rule of thumb, this should be supplemented by a range of other measures that, together, form a comprehensive risk-mitigation strategy.
Latham's team has extensive experience working with clients to develop and implement such strategies, and also has experience assisting clients in enforcing their rights under mineral concession and similar agreements when investment disputes arise.