Chinese gov’t hikes rare-earth taxes
China’s Ministry of Finance and State Administration for Taxation will start levying a higher tax on rare earth elements (REE) mined in the country come April 1.
Regulatory Issues
Navigating the shoals in the Philippines
Eleven of the 81 provinces in the Philippines have either imposed moratoriums on open-pit mining projects or on the mining of specific minerals, and a twelfth is set to soon join the list, according to Allan & Associates, a security risk…
Zimbabwe sets indigenization timeline
Vancouver – Never a dull place to operate, Zimbabwe has announced it is going ahead with its indigenization law and foreign mining firms now have until September 25 to sell a majority stake to locals.
Not so friendly foreign direct investment (March 28, 2011)
Robert Amsterdam has carved out a reputation as a go-to lawyer for executives feeling the wrath of a hostile government.
Editorial: Bidding wars heat up
The talk of the North American mining scene in mid-March was the ratcheting up of two high-profile bidding wars.
Fraser Institute: Latin America trails peers as mining destination (March 28, 2011)
Government policies of Latin American countries such as Guatemala, Bolivia, Venezuela and Honduras have dragged down investment in the entire region according to the Fraser Institute’s annual Survey of Mining Companies for 2010/11.
Not so friendly foreign direct investment (March 17, 2011)
Robert Amsterdam has carved out a reputation as the go-to lawyer for executives feeling the wrath of a hostile government. His battles with regimes in Russia, Nigeria and Venezuela, to name a few, have served to give him a unique perspective on…
Fraser Institute: Latin America trails peers as mining destination (March 16, 2011)
Vancouver – Government policies of Latin American countries such as Guatemala, Bolivia, Venezuela and Honduras have dragged down investment in the entire region according to the Fraser Institute’s Annual Survey of Mining Companies for 2010/11….
Colombia’s ‘shock of the new’ and its gold growing pains
Medellin, Colombia – The administration of former President Alvaro Uribe (2002-2010) opened the door to modern mining in Colombia. It was political foresightedness that is bearing fruit as various mineral projects advance to resource estimates…
Securities class actions hitting mining companies hard (March 07, 2011)
A disproportionate number of mining companies have been subject to securities class actions in recent years in Canada. Each action raises different facts and complaints about “misleading” disclosure. The impact on stock price and the resulting…
All eyes on M&A: PwC’s five deal trends to expect in 2011
The mining sector was thrust into the media spotlight in 2010 as the number of mining mergers and acquisitions (M&A) hit an all-time high. A new PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report tracked 2,693 global mining M&A deals worth US$113…
The way from San Jose: Chilean mines minister Golborne to follow Piera as president?
Santiago, Chile – Last October’s miraculous rescue of 33 trapped miners at San Jose has catapulted Chile’s Mines Minister Laurence Golborne to the forefront of national politics, even to the point that some are talking of him as a possible…