Good morning! This is Akin’s newsletter on climate change policy and regulatory developments, providing information on major climate policy headlines from the past week and forthcoming climate-related events and hearings...more
Earlier this summer, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals issued a decision affirming the lower court’s decision that the Mining Law of 1872 does not impose a limit on the number of mill sites that a mining claimant may...more
We have been following the International Seabed Authority (“ISA”) Council’s negotiations and drafting of the Exploitation Rules, Regulations and Procedures (“Exploitation RRPs”) for the deep seabed beyond national...more
On March 16, 2021, Rule 13q-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (Exchange Act), took effect. This rule requires resource extraction issuers to disclose on Form SD information relating to payments made to a...more
Planning for mineral rights is a crucial aspect of estate planning, specifically for landowners with valuable mineral assets. Mineral rights can significantly impact the value and management of an estate, and proper planning...more
On 19 July 2024, the European Union (EU) and the Republic of Serbia (“Serbia”) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) creating a strategic partnership on sustainable raw materials, battery value chains and electric...more
On July 10, 2024, Grassy Narrows First Nation (Grassy Narrows) launched a challenge against Ontario’s Mining Act (the Mining Act), claiming that the system for granting mining claims pursuant to the legislation (the Mining...more
Deep-sea mining activities on the seabed and ocean floor beyond national waters are a risky and capital-intensive venture. The unpredictability of little-known ecosystems and environmental impacts translate into regulatory...more
The UK Supreme Court’s landmark judgment in R (on the application of Finch on behalf of the Weald Action Group) v Surrey County Council and others (“Finch”) was handed down on 20 June 2024. Since then, more recent...more
In this week’s edition, we look at a report which sets out claims that some of the world’s largest financial institutions are greenwashing their Amazon-related ESG claims. In Switzerland, the European Court of Human Rights’...more
Briggs v. Southwestern Energy Production Company, LLC is good news for Pennsylvania mineral owners bringing claims for subsurface trespass by fracking. In 2018 in “Briggs 1”, the Briggs family sued SWN for subsurface...more
The Federal Register on May 6, 2024, published final regulations issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and IRS under the clean vehicle tax credits found at Sections 25E (previously owned clean vehicles) and 30D (clean...more
In the latest article from our Striking the Balance: Permitting Reforms for Mining and the Energy Transition series, we explore the EU’s recent efforts to streamline the mine permitting process via the Critical Raw Materials...more
As outlined in the first installment of our series, "Striking the Balance: Permitting Reforms for Mining and the Energy Transition", to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, mining development is essential for providing the...more
À compter du 6 mai 2024, il sera désormais nécessaire d’obtenir une autorisation pour travaux d’exploration à impacts (une « ATI ») auprès du ministère des Ressources naturelles et des Forêts (le « Ministère ») avant de...more
Beginning on May 6, 2024, an authorization (ATI) from the Quebec ministry responsible for mines, the Ministère des Ressources naturelles et des Forêts (MRNF), will be required before conducting impact-causing exploration work...more
The U.S. Department of the Interior (Interior) released a final rule that will protect millions of acres of Alaskan wildness from the development of oil, gas and minerals. Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which...more
Mined materials are in the products we use every day—our cars, jewelry, phones, laptops, and buildings—and technology for the energy transition means that more of these materials are needed for wind, solar, and electric...more
Itching to sue the government for taking your property? Treme v. St. John the Baptist Parish Council is a reminder that you must have a property interest subject to being taken in order to have standing to sue for a...more
As reported to our readers in August 2023, the California Supreme Court in Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. County of Monterey, (2023) Cal. LEXIS 4349, struck down a Monterey County initiative that would have banned oil and gas...more
On March 28, 2024, the federal government announced, amid market uncertainty, that it would be extending the 15 percent Mineral Exploration Tax Credit (METC) for investors in flow-through shares for one additional year, until...more
Recent Texas royalty cases seem to feature litigants on the fixed royalty side trying, more often than not in vain, to escape the clutches of Van Dyke v. Navigator and Hysaw v. Dawkins. See those decisions for the history of...more
This is the first article in Womble Bond Dickinson’s Energy & Natural Resources thought leadership series titled Striking the Balance: Permitting Reforms for Mining and the Energy Transition. In this series, we’ll explore the...more
El Gobierno Nacional de Colombia modificó mediante el Decreto 0242 de 2024 las tarifas de retención y autorretención aplicables a las empresas del sector minero y de hidrocarburos. Estas modificaciones fueron realizadas con...more
It has been a little over a year and a half since the enactment of the Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”) promoted by the Biden Administration, and critical mineral producers and their investors are rushing to find ways to...more