Practice Areas & Industries: Holland & Hart LLP

Practice/Industry Group Overview

Holland & Hart has broad experience in every aspect of mining operations, from the initial stages of lease acquisition, title examination, permitting and site development to all aspects of managing and operating an active mine, including:

• acquisition and sales of properties and projects
• joint ventures and operating agreements
• financing of mine development
• operational issues
• purchasing of plant, equipment and supplies
• marketing
• construction
• personnel matters
• litigation, arbitration and other forms of dispute resolution
• responding to mine accidents and emergencies

For more than sixty years Holland & Hart has been a leading mining law firm in the Western United States.

Services Available

Holland & Hart's mining lawyers represent hardrock and industrial mineral producers with operations and properties in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, and in countries throughout the world.  Representative clients include most of the major mining companies with operations in the western U.S. and many other major and junior producers in the region and worldwide.

Holland & Hart's mining lawyers regularly assist clients in structuring, negotiating, and documenting a wide array of mining transactions, including joint ventures, limited liability companies, leases, royalty agreements, purchases and sales of mineral property and corporate acquisitions and mergers.  Our attorneys assist in due diligence, examination of title to mining claims and mineral properties, and permit acquisition and transfer.

Holland & Hart frequently advises clients on public land law issues affecting mining properties, including location, maintenance and patenting of mining claims and mill sites; resolution of claim conflicts with third parties; and acquisition of use agreements, federal mineral lease issues and land exchanges.

Holland & Hart handles regulatory permitting questions relating to land, air, water and waste; defense of environmental enforcement actions involving air, land, water and hazardous waste issues; environmental compliance audits; and matters under the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act.  Overall, our attorneys have broad experience in every aspect of a mining operation, from the initial acquisition, permitting and exploration stages, through feasibility studies, site development and all aspects of managing and operating an active mine, to reclamation and end use of mining property.  Holland & Hart's depth with respect to environmental regulation of the mining industry can be seen in the American Law of Mining treatise, the entire environmental title of which was originally authored by, and was recently updated by, the firm's lawyers.

Attorneys who serve our mining clients have extensive experience with administrative agencies ranging from the Bureau of Land Management, Environmental Protection Agency and Fish and Wildlife Service, to the state agencies responsible for permitting and regulating mining operations in the Mountain West Region.  Our attorneys have tried cases before MSHA and participated in MSHA accident investigations, defended environmental impact statements and handled other matters before the Interior Board of Land Appeals, and appeared in numerous administrative cases before state agencies on behalf of mining companies.

Recently, we have successfully assisted clients in:

• privatizing a major gold mining property in the Dominican Republic
• acquiring and selling key properties and royalties on the Carlin Trend, Nevada
• defending claims for additional payment made by royalty holders.

Our lawyers routinely assist mining clients with labor law matters, construction and commercial contracts and tax issues.

Throughout the firm, Holland & Hart has experts on virtually every legal aspect associated with the mining industry, and prides itself on its comprehensive understanding of the mining business.

Emergency Response

Holland & Hart also provides our mining clients with a unique emergency response service, training mine managers in the issues associated with responding to major mine emergencies.  Our lawyers provide immediate on-site assistance within hours of major mine problems.  We assist many clients in responding to regulatory investigations, MSHA inspections and citations, and other services associated with mine operations.