Mining law, in the Canadian context, is generally understood to include all legal issues relating to the mineral exploration, development, production and reclamation cycle, that is to say, from raw grass roots exploration through to the fabrication and ultimate sale of finished metal product, as well as mine closure and reclamation. It deals with such items as exploration and development agreements, joint ventures, syndicates and royalty agreements; mining taxation; project financing, structured financing, capital markets financing and the corporate and technical due diligence relating thereto; related infrastructure development and financing; engineering and service contracts; processing and refining contracts as well as metal sales contracts; intellectual property issues relating to mineral and mining technologies; mining commissioner and severance disputes; mineral policy and mineral strategy issues; and related socio-economic and environmental issues. It can be said to include the extractive sectors.
