Mining jurisdictions
Where a project sits matters as much as what is in the ground. Licensing, permits, Indigenous rights, tax and politics, and how each one changes a project's value at each stage.
- What makes a good mining jurisdictionSecure title, predictable permits, stable and fair fiscal terms, workable community relations, infrastructure and the ability to move money. The factors that make a place easier or harder to mine in.2 min read
- How jurisdiction risk enters a valuationRules and politics change a project's value through four levers: cash flow, timing, the discount rate and the chance of success. Which lever matters most depends on the stage.4 min read
- Exploration and mining licencesThe licences a project moves through, from a first exploration licence to a mining licence: what each one allows, how it is held and renewed, which one a project needs at each stage, and the risks of losing title along the way.6 min read
- Permitting and environmental approvalsBefore a mine can be built it needs an approved environmental impact assessment and a stack of other permits. How long that takes, and how certain it is, is one of the biggest drivers of value before construction.2 min read
- Indigenous rights and community consentMany deposits lie on land with Indigenous or customary rights. Consultation, consent and benefit agreements shape whether a mine can be built, when, and what it pays to the people affected.3 min read
- Fiscal regime and stability: royalties, tax and resource nationalismHow a country's royalty, tax and state-ownership terms compare, why they change, and what stability agreements and investment treaties protect against.3 min read
- Foreign ownership, currency and getting profits outRules on who can own a project, local partners and local content, currency controls and taxes on money leaving the country decide how much of a mine's cash a foreign investor actually receives.2 min read
- Closure and reclamation bondsEvery mine must eventually be closed and its land restored. Many jurisdictions require the owner to lodge financial security for that cost up front, which ties up capital and adds to the funding need.2 min read
- Reading a jurisdiction: rankings, indices and their limitsIndustry surveys and governance indices are a useful first screen for a country, but they are opinions and averages. How to use them, and what to check yourself.2 min read