Mining Contracts Panel in Cape Town

PRESS RELEASE
MINING CONTRACTS: HOW TO READ AND UNDERSTAND THEM

2.00pm – 3.00pm, Wednesday, February 5, 2014, Mining Indaba
Room 1.63 Cape Town International Convention Center

Learn about a new resource on mining contracts -hot off the press. Fourteen experts have just produced the world’s most comprehensive book on mining contracts for lay readers in just five days using a collaborative writing technique known as a “Book Sprint.” Mining Contracts: how to read and understand them is a user-friendly guide to help policy makers, civil society, citizens, and the media understand the often complex and opaque terms of mining contracts.

The book is available for download but free copies will be available at this event, including extras for colleagues and home offices.

The book explains in layman’s terms the principal features of a contract, compares different approaches to key issues, and supplies the context and background necessary for non-specialists to understand how contracts are negotiated and what they say. Its two dozen chapters address issues such as how contracts interact with laws and treaties, how fiscal tools work and interact, how contracts can protect the environment and community rights, and how to avoid and manage disputes, along with many other topics.

Presenters include: Johnny West, Founder of Open Oil, Rob Pitman of Revenue Watch Institute and Michael Jarvis of the World Bank Institute.