New demand from energy transition technologies will require the acceleration of mine development for a range of minerals, including lithium, copper, graphite and cobalt. This combined with concerns about security of supply have thrust mining under the spotlight, drawing the attention of policy makers, investors and the general public.

For this mining boom to have a broad positive impact, the mining and minerals industry must learn from the mistakes of the past and put ESG factors at the centre of its business model.

Edited by Ted Rhodes, head of the Mining and Minerals group at international law firm CMS, ESG in Mining and Minerals provides a wide-ranging analysis of the ESG risks, challenges and opportunities facing mining companies and the wider minerals supply chain.

It considers the specific ESG challenges facing companies in the mining and minerals sector, from reducing carbon intensity and protecting biodiversity, through community engagement and human rights, to ensuring transparency in government relations. It will guide readers through relevant emerging ESG regulation, ESG risks, and new approaches to mining to reduce its negative impact on the environment and its inhabitants.

ESG in Mining and Minerals combines legal analysis with an understanding of the commercial imperatives and practical realities of the mining and minerals sector, which can often be particularly challenging from an ESG perspective. Its holistic approach to the ESG context of the sector is intended to help in the preparation of risk analyses and comprehensive ESG policies, which must of course be tailored to each individual mining business in a way that reinforces competitiveness, rather than detract from it.

This book will be an invaluable guide for directors and management in mining and minerals companies, investors and financiers, as well as sustainability professionals, in-house and external counsel and anyone else who is concerned with the ESG impacts of extractive industries.

Nabil Abrahams
Associate, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nabil-abrahams-969071147/

Nabil Abrahams is an associate in the energy and infrastructure team at CMS in London. Nabil holds degrees in law and cognitive neuroscience and specialises in international energy project developments and M&A transactions across the oil and gas, green hydrogen, renewable energy and mining sectors.

María Cristina Alva
Partner, CMS Grau
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-cristina-alva/

María Cristina Alva is a partner at CMS Grau in the mining practice area. With an extensive background, she has consolidated more than 10 years of experience providing legal advice in the areas of mining, corporate and environmental law. Her strategic vision is geared towards preventing legal contingencies and facilitating crucial decision making in the mining sector, distinguishing her as a results-oriented professional. In addition to her practical experience, María Cristina has a solid academic background. She holds a master’s degree in mining management from the GERENS Graduate School in Peru and certifications from renowned institutions such as the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management, where she obtained the Certificate of Inclusion by Design.
Throughout her professional journey, María Cristina played key roles at Compañía Minera Ares (Hochschild Group), including positions such as legal and corporate affairs deputy manager and head of the mining regulation department. She has offered legal advice with a special focus on mining and environmental regulations for various mining units and exploration projects within the group.

Yasmin Batliwala
Chief executive, Advocates for International Development (A4ID)
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/yasmin-batliwala-mbe-1b11a029/

Yasmin Batliwala has held a number of significant leadership positions over the years within the public and third sectors. Her portfolios have included HIV/AIDS, drug and alcohol misuse and criminal justice. She has undertaken work for the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime in this regard. Yasmin has considerable board-level experience, including having been on the board of a large NHS trust, governor of the University of Hertfordshire and serving as a magistrate in the Youth and Adult Courts. She was a recipient of the City of London Woman of Achievement Awards for her work in the public sector. In 2022, Yasmin was awarded an MBE for her work in human rights, rule of law and international development in the Queen’s New Year Honours List.

Neal Brewster
Executive director, Elemental Economics
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nealbrewster/

Neal Brewster is an expert on economic, market and valuation issues in the metals, mining and energy sectors. He works as an industry consultant and is a visiting lecturer at the University of Dundee. He was chief economist at a leading producer of market intelligence and consulting services in the mining and critical raw materials sectors and has held a number of senior economics, valuation and strategy roles at Rio Tinto, in the United Kingdom and Australia. He also has significant experience working on government policy in the natural resources sector.

Kevin PCJ D’Souza
Founder, KD Consulting
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinpcjdsouza-esg-mining/

Kevin D’Souza is a recognised professional and sustainability/ESG thought leader with over three decades of direct experience in responsible mining. He has experience in a variety of operational, managerial and executive leadership roles that range from remote exploration camps, mine construction sites, operational mines and closure sites to corporate and ministerial offices. Throughout his career, he has amassed direct experience in over 50 countries worldwide working with remote communities and Indigenous groups.
He has worked directly for, or consulted to, numerous mining companies including many of the industry’s majors such as Barrick, AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Kinross and De Beers. He was most recently the chief sustainability officer for Resource Capital Funds and, prior to that, the VP of security, sustainability and environment for Centerra Gold. Before that, he was senior director community relations and environment for Barrick. He is currently a member of the technical advisory committee for Mining 2030 (Global Investor Commission on Mining) and an advisory board member for International Women in Mining.

Sandra Gogal
Partner, Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandra-gogal-6020b631/

Sandra Gogal is a partner in the Aboriginal Law Group at Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP. A strategic thinker and trusted adviser to resource developers, investors, governments and agencies on matters relating to Aboriginal and environmental law, Sandra has a nationally recognised practice with extensive regulatory experience in mining, hydroelectric, nuclear, forestry and oil and gas. Sandra offers a combined 25+ years’ experience in-house with the government of Ontario and in private practice – providing strategic legal advice to clients in the resource sector across Canada on matters relating to Aboriginal rights and consultation, environmental assessments, permitting and government relations. An astute negotiator, she has navigated several successful commercial arrangements, settlements, impact and benefit agreements and partnerships between industry and First Nations on major Canadian hydro-electric projects, pipeline and mining projects. For her work, Sandra is recognised as a leader in her field by Chambers Canada, Best Lawyers and Lexpert.

Sarah Grenfell
Partner, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-grenfell-0210809b/

Sarah Grenfell is a partner in CMS’s infrastructure, construction and energy disputes team in London. Sarah specialises in complex, high-value disputes in the energy and construction sectors. Experienced in all forms of dispute resolution,
Sarah has a particular focus on international arbitration. Sarah has advised clients on projects around the globe, including in the United Kingdom, Europe, Russia, the Middle East, North and East Africa, Australia and Asia; she has also acted as counsel and co-counsel on disputes governed by English law and the laws of other jurisdictions. Sarah holds an LLB and LLM from the University of Queensland, Australia, is admitted to practise in Australia and England and Wales and is a qualified Solicitor-Advocate.

David How
Associate, Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrhow/

David How is an associate in the Aboriginal law group at Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP, advising on matters across Canada. His practice focuses on Aboriginal rights and title and represents a wide variety of Indigenous, private sector and industry, and provincial and municipal government clients. David advises on and negotiates Indigenous selfgovernance, the duty to consult, historic claims, modern treaties and impact benefit agreements. David also has experience litigating complex Aboriginal rights and title claims as well as commercial matters. David has a law degree in both the common law and the civil law and is called to the bar in the provinces of British Columbia and Ontario.

Ben Lepley
Senior mining ESG consultant, SLR Consulting
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-lepley-608a6225/

Ben Lepley is a chartered geologist and practising ESG consultant with over 15 years in the minerals and mining industry. Ben’s work involves embedding sustainability and ESG concepts and processes into mineral project development and assisting clients in implementing positive change. He also manages multidisciplinary teams for technical studies, including exploration projects and operational mines, from scoping studies through to feasibility studies. Ben works on behalf of exploration and mining companies as well as financial institutions undertaking due diligence reviews and audits. He has significant relevant experience across base metal and bulk commodities, including copper, iron ore, bauxite and nickel, as well as speciality metals such as lithium and rare earth elements.

Tatiana Londoño Camargo
Counsel, CMS Rodríguez-Azuero
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tatiana-londo%C3%B1o-camargo-bb95093b/

Tatiana Londoño Camargo is a Colombian lawyer with a Master of Laws (LLM) degree in International Legal Studies from Georgetown University, where she attended as a Fulbright and Colfuturo Scholar. She also holds a master’s degree in National Security and Defense from the Colombian Superior War College and a graduate degree in Administrative Law.
She has acted as adviser in human rights and international law in several public institutions, including the Colombian Ministry of Defense, Military Forces Command, National Senate and Inspector General’s Office, where, as Inspector General Delegate for Human Rights and Ethnic Affairs, she participated in the creation of Colombia’s National Action Plan in Business and Human Rights, among others.
Tatiana is counsel in human rights for CMS Rodríguez-Azuero, prior to which she was partner of LH Law & Consulting advising important companies in Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, the United States, Switzerland and other countries in human rights and human rights due diligence. She has also been Public International Law professor at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana’s Law School in Bogotá, currently teaches master’s degree courses in Business and Human Rights and International Law, and has been invited as speaker for congresses and conferences at several Colombian universities.

Dalia Majumder-Russell
Partner, Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/daliamajumderrussell/

Dalia Majumder-Russell focuses on energy transition technologies and infrastructure projects as part of the energy and climate change practice in the CMS London office.
Dalia specialises in complex process energy projects advising on renewable energy transactions, commercial agreements and the regulatory frameworks within which such projects operate. For over 10 years she has advised governments, lenders and sponsors in Europe, Africa and North America on legal issues arising across the project life cycle. As a core member of the firm’s ESG group, her work delves into the ways in which projects best manage their greenhouse gas emissions and meet their ESG commitments.
Dalia is passionate about the decarbonisation agenda across the energy, heat and transport sectors. She leads CMS’s carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS) and hydrogen initiatives and champions the firm’s thought leadership on the subject, which includes publication of the multijurisdictional CMS Expert Guide to Hydrogen Law and Regulation.

Chris Meikle
Asia-Pacific mining sector leader and technical director, geotechnics and mine waste engineering, SLR Consulting
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-meikle-0b835517a/

Chris Meikle is a chartered engineering geologist with over 20 years’ research and applied experience. Chris leads SLR’s mining sector representation in the Asia-Pacific region, linking a diverse range of services, including mining advisory, sustainability advisory, geotechnics, tailings, water, environmental assessment, social impact and mine closure. He has a PhD from Newcastle University in the United Kingdom and bachelor’s degree in Earth Sciences. His leadership extends across local, national and international networks where he provides input on a diverse range of projects alongside multidisciplinary subject matter specialists. Throughout his career he has undertaken projects across Europe, the Middle East, the United States, South America, Africa, Indonesia and Australia.
Chris is an active technical practitioner, focusing on geohazards and risk assessment and he has previously held the position of Engineer of Record, overseeing the successful implementation of GISTM compliance. He is an advocate for corporate sustainability and routinely contributes to thought leadership on ESG topics.

Eoin O’Shea
Partner and head of corporate crime practice, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/eoinoshea1/

Eoin O’Shea heads the corporate crime practice at CMS. He advises on government and regulatory investigations, corporate crime issues, civil disputes and professional ethics. Areas of particular focus are financial crime, fraud law in all its aspects, anti-corruption, sanctions, legal privilege, regulatory law, public law, competition law and international law. Eoin is a member and former chair of the City of London Law Society Corporate Crime Committee. He is the author of The Bribery Act 2010: A Practical Guide (Jordans, 2011), a leading textbook on UK bribery law, and co-author of various books, including the chapter on privilege in the fourth edition of Banking Litigation (Sweet & Maxwell, 2017).

Jeff Parshley
Corporate consultant, SRK Consulting (US) Inc
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-parshley-a1431a29/

Jeff Parshley is a professional geologist and corporate consultant with SRK Consulting and served as its global group chairman from 2016 to 2021. A graduate of Dartmouth College, Jeff has more than 40 years of mining industry experience including over 35 years in mine closure.
Jeff has contributed significantly to environmental conservation worldwide, sharing his thought leadership on and knowledge of mine closure well beyond industry consulting to include private and governmental organisations. Jeff’s body of work includes best practices, corporate standards, guidance documents, and regulatory policies in support of building ESG frameworks that account for the legal, financial, stakeholder, technical and institutional-capacity considerations within mine closure. In collaboration with the state of Nevada and the US Bureau of Land Management, he authored the Standardized Reclamation Cost Estimator, or SRCE, a public domain tool used around the world to calculate mine closure costs for financial assurance.

Ted Rhodes
Partner, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-rhodes-a791b6a/

Ted Rhodes is the head of the mining and minerals practice of international law firm, CMS. He is a specialist in mining, commodities trading, energy and natural resources projects, having worked on such matters across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. He spent 12 years, from 2009 until 2021, in Brazil, leading CMS’s Rio de Janeiro office and the expansion of CMS across Latin America.
Ted advises mining companies, commodities traders and other participants in the minerals supply chain on corporate transactions and joint ventures, project development and commercial contracts as well as regulation, including emerging ESG regulation. He has authored a number of publications on mining and minerals, including a series of articles on the role of mining and minerals in the energy transition.

Kamen Stoilov
Associate, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kamen-stoilov-a49a31179/

Kamen Stoilov is an associate in the CMS environment team based in London. Kamen has broad experience advising on the full spectrum of environmental and consumer products legislation applicable in the European Union and the United Kingdom, with a particular specialism in circular economy legislation.
During his day-to-day work, he also advises on GHG/F-Gas emissions, non-financial and climate-related reporting, green claims, supply chain due diligence, deforestation regulations, environmental permitting, product safety, right to repair, waste shipments, end-of-life product management and extended producer responsibility.

Andrew Sullivan
ESG lead (Canada Mining, Minerals and Metals), Stantec
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-sullivan-48813730/

With an engineering and legal background, Andrew Sullivan has a rare perspective on the planning and execution of large resource projects, their legal issues and corresponding regulatory frameworks. He has completed a Master of Laws with a specialisation in energy and infrastructure. Andrew published a paper on the duty to consult in large infrastructure projects in the Journal of Canadian College of Construction Lawyers. He has worked on and led teams in the creation of the mine operating budgets and as a project manager has led teams in the creation of NI43-101 reporting, pre-feasibility studies and closure plans. Andrew is currently ESG lead for Stantec Mining, Minerals and Metals in Canada.

Daniela Vergel-Riascos
Partner, CMS Rodríguez-Azuero
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniela-vergel/

Daniela Vergel-Riascos is a partner in the environmental law and sustainability team, and co-leads the energy and climate change team in the mining sector at CMS Rodríguez-Azuero. She holds degrees in law and has specialised in mining and environmental law and conflict resolutions for over 15 years while based in Bogotá, Colombia. Daniela is arbitrator and secretary of the arbitration and conciliation centres of the Chamber of Commerce of Bogota and the superintendence of corporations. She has advised different clients on the structuring of environmental and sustainability strategy for projects in diverse sectors, including acquisition of mining titles, compliance of environmental law for all industries, procedures before the mining and environmental authority, among other matters. She has successfully represented clients in litigation disputes and environmental and mining sanctioning processes.

David Walker
Global director, mining and minerals, SLR Consulting
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-walker-26511213/

David Walker is the global director responsible for SLR’s international mining and minerals business, which covers SLR’s mining advisory, sustainability, waste and tailings, water, environmental and social and closure offering. David has over 35 years’ experience within the mining sector, in both senior management and as an experienced consultant.
Under his leadership at SLR, the mining services brand and recognition by clients and industry peers alike for technical excellence has grown for the nine years in his role.
A keen strategic insight, together with a broad scientific and engineering background, formed by his extensive experience in support of the development, operation and closure of mining projects, has allowed David to develop a deep appreciation of an integrated engineering and environmental approach to projects. In keeping with the evolution of the mining industry, this has come to mean he is a strong advocate of ESG and sustainability and the role that it has in the future of the mining industry.
His own technical specialities and experience covers a range of technical and project work of a geotechnical, hydrogeological and hydrological nature covering all aspects of mine tailings or mine waste and environmental engineering projects. He has extensive experience of working in developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.