For more than 60 years, Holland & Hart has been a leading mining law firm in the United States, earning a national first-tier ranking for our mining practice in 2010, 2011, and 2012 from U.S.News & World Report and Best Lawyers®. From the commencement of a mining project through fruition, our mining lawyers have broad experience advising clients on virtually every aspect of a mining operation. Our multi-disciplinary team leads clients from the initial stages of acquisition, title examination, permitting, and exploration, through feasibility studies, site development, financing, and management and operation of an active mine, all the way to reclamation and post-mining use of mining property.
Drawing on the firm's full-service capabilities, our lawyers routinely assist mining clients with employment law matters; construction and commercial contracts; tax issues; litigation, arbitration, and other forms of dispute resolution; even responding to mine accidents and emergencies with Holland & Hart's Emergency Response Team. Further, our intellectual property attorneys assist the firm's mining clients with the acquisition and disposition of technology and intellectual property rights, often handling patent infringement disputes involving a variety of mining technologies, including placer mining, leach mining, and coal synfuel.
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.
Transactions
In recent years we have represented U.S., European, Korean, Australian, Japanese and Chilean clients in matters ranging from structuring acquisitions of interests in U.S. molybdenum, copper and gold ventures, to acquisitions and sales of mines in Mexico and Latin America, to major coal company mergers in the U.S.
Construction and Finance
Holland & Hart's lawyers have advised clients on construction projects in the mining industry worldwide. As a result of this experience, Holland & Hart is uniquely qualified to provide practical solutions for all aspects of complex mining construction projects, from the appropriate contract structure for construction of the project, through project completion, start-up and commercial operation. In addition, Holland & Hart has acted as counsel both to mining companies and major national and international financing institutions on the financing of mining projects on a global basis, from exploration through to development and operations.
Regulatory Compliance and Permitting
Attorneys who serve our mining clients have extensive experience with public land law issues affecting mining properties, including location, maintenance, and patenting of mining claims and mill sites. They are familiar 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 and often provide client counseling on regulatory matters and claim contests. 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. 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, and recently updated, by the firm's lawyers.
Litigation and Arbitration
Our attorneys have handled all aspects of contract litigation involving mining operations, including disputes with joint venture partners, mineral royalty disputes and the resolution of mining claim conflicts with third parties; tried cases before MSHA and participated in MSHA accident investigations; defended environmental impact statements and handled matters before the Interior Board of Land Appeals; and appeared in numerous administrative cases before state agencies on behalf of mining companies.
Emergency Response
Holland & Hart also provides our mining clients with a unique emergency response service, training mine managers on 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.
Locations and Industries Served
Holland & Hart's mining lawyers represent hard rock and industrial mineral producers with operations and properties throughout the United States and in countries throughout the world, including Argentina, Bolivia, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Peru, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, the United Kingdom and Venezuela.
We have represented clients in myriad segments of the minerals industry including gold, silver, platinum, palladium, iron, lead, zinc, copper, nickel, coal, trona, bentonite, talc, barite, limestone, lithium, diamonds, marble, pumice, perlite, clay, sand and gravel, gypsum, oil shale, oil and gas, helium, potash, natural gas and natural gas liquids.
Experience
REPRESENTATIVE TRANSACTIONS
Major financial institutions in financing of a nationwide merger of major coal companies, of a molybdenum mine in Idaho, of a uranium mill and mines in Utah, and a lead mine in Missouri
Major Canadian investors in providing financing for gold mine in Nevada
Major British mining company in forming joint-ventures and limited liability companies for major mine projects in Alaska and Nevada
U.S. rare earth company in initial public offering
U.S. companies in permitting a mine methane project in Wyoming
Mine methane capture and use projects at underground trona mines in Wyoming and coal mines in Utah
Korean company in acquiring minority interest in molybdenum mine in Nevada
Chilean company in acquiring interest in copper mine in Minnesota
Canadian company in privatizing a major gold mining property in the Dominican Republic
Canadian company in on all phases of development of U.S. copper-nickel project
Korean companies in acquiring interest in copper mine in Arizona
Financial institutions in financing of $1.2 billion merger of two major U.S. coal producers
Domestic developers of natural liquids pipelines and related lateral systems in property acquisitions and eminent domain actions
