Baker McKenzie’s Global Guide to Critical Minerals examines the status and strategic legal background for critical minerals across a number key mining jurisdictions, as well as the applicable legal and regulatory framework for their extraction, highlighting the rapid change in the critical minerals space as the energy transition accelerates.

There is a growing investor focus on Environmental, Social and Governance factors in the mining sector. In recent years, mining companies with better ESG performance have delivered materially higher shareholder returns than the wider market. Further, in order to be able to access funding, mining companies are increasingly required to demonstrate a robust commitment to addressing ESG concerns and risks, as well as a strong track record of ESG compliance.

On 22 July 2022, the UK government published a policy paper entitled “Resilience for the future: The UK’s critical minerals strategy” (UKCMS). The UKCMS outlines how the UK will secure critical mineral supply chains to ensure the energy transition. It also sets out the UK state support for domestic production of critical minerals as well as enabling the supply from third-party nations.

The metals and mining industry has long been a focus for governments, NGOs, industry bodies and wider society concerned by the environmental and social impacts of the extractive sectors. Over recent years, these concerns have led to the introduction of wide-reaching and robust ESG-focused regulations, codes, and principles that mining companies are now obliged and expected to observe, requiring enhanced reporting, the introduction of best practices and procedures and, increasingly, the need to demonstrate that ESG considerations are factored into strategic decision-making.

Stakeholders demand mining companies be not only profitable and productive but also responsible and sustainable The mining industry is facing new challenges. In the past, mining companies simply had to plan their production on the basis of “highest volumes at the lowest production cost” to keep stakeholders happy. Today, mining…

The metals and mining sector is increasingly exposed to ESG risks, including concerns around emissions, water use, deforestation and community relations. At the same time, ESG reporting obligations, and institutional and other investor interest in what resource companies are doing in this space, are rapidly multiplying across the globe. Alongside…