While the Canadian mining sector has not been immune to the challenges that have faced the global economy since the latter part of 2008, it has demonstrated admirable resilience in the face of previous commodity and financing cycles. Scale and access to financing are important contributors to such resilience.

The International Who’s Who of Mining Lawyers has brought together three of the leading practitioners in the world to discuss key issues facing mining lawyers today

Mining regulations in Argentina are mainly established in the Argentine Mining Code (AMC), although others may be found in local procedure laws and some special federal laws.

As corporate scandals continue to plague capital markets and the post-Bre-X quest for certainty in corporate governance and disclosure has not lived up to its potential, counsel more than ever must provide clients with practical guidance to help them meet regulatory and market demands for good corporate governance.

Over the past two years, the outstanding prices of base metals and commodity minerals in general have played a role in increasing mining activity in Latin America.

Our research utilises the feedback received from corporate counsel and private practitioners across the globe to pick out 287 lawyers in 47 countries who should be considered the leading experts in the world for the full range of mining related work.

With the benefit of over 14 years of research and tens of thousands of votes from clients and private practitioners, Who’s Who Legal takes a closer look at developing trends in the mining legal marketplace worldwide.

Months of independent and rigorous research have revealed the world's best mining lawyers in 42 jurisdictions. Who's Who Legal includes 267 expert practitioners and this article highlights the best of the best in the mining hotspots Canada, the United States, Australia and Latin America.

Little has changed over the last 12 months in the mining marketplace. The mining industry is witnessing a lack of worthwhile financial investments, a cessation of greenfield exploration and a flurry of consolidations, as investors opt for the safety of the precious metals market over risky mining ventures.

Mining is a key industry in the CIS region and our research uncovers 25 lawyers in four countries who are considered leaders in this competitive marketplace.

Our research allows us to highlight the firms and individuals who are leaders of this practice area.

Tom Barnes identifies the issues currently faced by leading mining lawyers.

With the continuing turmoil in the financial markets and the relative weakness of the US dollar, the price of precious metals continues to reach record high levels, with gold prices increasing by 30 per cent in 2007 and platinum, palladium and silver also rising sharply. With such potential rewards on offer, this continues to prompt similarly elevated levels of activity in the mining sector across the world. Our research has identified 235 individuals in 37 countries who have demonstrated the highest levels of expertise in this vibrant area.