IISD Handbook on Mining Contract Negotiations for Developing Countries, Volume I: Preparing for Success
By Howard Mann, Published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development, April 2015
Recognizing the need for a tool to help guide developing countries through the process of negotiating investment contracts with mining companies, this handbook seeks to assist government officials to identify their needs and goals and to prepare themselves to negotiate effectively, with the goal of creating maximum shared value from mining for developing countries. The work distills the experience of the author and colleagues in developing and delivering training programs, curricula, model contracts, and reviews of international best practice in developing countries and with international institutions. Part 1, the introduction, presents the orientation and structure of the handbook. The main goal of Part 2, on legal context, is to note how mining contracts fit into the legal context of three forms of legal sources relating to large mining investments: domestic law, investment treaties and mining contracts. Part 2 also considers how the handbook relates to the Model Mining Development Agreement (MMDA) of the International Bar Association (IBA). Part 3, on shifting from win–lose to win–win–win paradigms, addresses changing assumptions, such as the recognition of the need for a social license to operate and the legitimacy of community needs and objectives. Part 4 sets out key steps to prepare for negotiations, including: understanding the full economic value of the resource and the proposed project, identifying needs and opportunities of the developing country relating to the specific project, clarifying the role of domestic law, preparing internally for the negotiations (strategy, objectives, goals), building capacity in the negotiating team, managing the negotiating process with the company, and managing the political side. Available at https://www.IISD.org/publications/IISD-handbook-mining-contract-negotiations-developing-countries-volume-1
