Early on in our Firm’s life, we already saw the potential for the Philippines as an investment destination for mining clients who were quite aware that the Philippines is among the top five (5) highly mineralized countries in the world. Thus, we opted to devote particular attention to the specialized field of mining law. That interest of ours has borne fruit as we have been in the past 20 years and we are until today at the forefront of mining law practice. We are recognized as industry leaders by our peers and clients both here and abroad.
FNS, acting as counsel for the Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) Holder, was instrumental in the Philippine Supreme Court decision upholding the right of foreign mining companies to wholly own large-scale mining projects in the country through FTAA’s, a nation rich in mineral resources.
FNS acted as counsel to the developer of the first foreign funded mining project in the country since the enactment of the Philippine Mining Act of 1995, from its exploration, project financing to its development and operating stages. FNS advises Metals Exploration Plc, holder of the Runruno FTAA Project which is now in commercial production. FNS is likewise counsel to B2Gold in the highly regarded Masbate Gold Project, particularly, to Philippine Gold Processing and Resources Corporation. The Firm represents other equally important foreign and domestic mining companies that hold substantial interests in Mineral Production Sharing Agreements and Exploration Permits on various mining projects.
Mining companies come to us for our knowledge, expertise and experience in providing them valuable advice and assistance in exploration, project financing, construction, development and processing activities. We help them mining clients navigate through the challenges in opening and operating mining projects in the country and encourage in them full compliance with environmental laws and adherence to sustainable and responsible mining.
We have handled joint venture agreements, royalty and option agreements, government permit approvals, due diligence, mining litigation and alternative dispute resolution, environmental matters, indigenous peoples consent and agreements; construction contracts, indigenous peoples’ issues, and project financing agreements.
We do not limit ourselves to just doing mining law work as we are likewise quite involved in giving back to the mining industry by being an active part of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines, Legal Committee; the Australia-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce; and the Philippine Mining and Exploration Association.
As we move on to the next 25 years of our Firm’s practice, we will continue to address the requirements of clients engaged in mining projects as well as in the infrastructure fields. We hone our ability to think outside the box in looking for solutions to our clients’ issues. We are lawyers who work with our clients in finding a way to reach their goals in the face of the challenges in these vibrant fields.
Senior Partner Dicky Salazar heads this practice area and he can be reached at rrcsalazar@fnslaw.com.ph.
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