Minerals & Natural Resources

We dig deep for the results you need



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For further advice please contact us for a consultation.

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+44 (0)3330 143 401 [email protected]

Sound advice grounded in commercial reality, coming from decades of experience in all aspects of the minerals and aggregates industry

Summary

Our Minerals & Natural Resources team has an established reputation for quality and commerciality, garnered through breadth and depth of experience. In keeping with our model at gunnercooke, our team is comprised exclusively of senior lawyers with a minimum 10,000 hours in practice, so you will always be advised by experienced professionals with vast expertise in their field.

Our team are masters of navigating the complex commercial and legal issues which arise in the minerals and natural resources sector, enabling us to identify and achieve your goals while protecting your interests in the short, medium and long term. Acting for both landowners and operators, we have the range of perspective and expertise to meet the needs of all our clients, from landowners who are new to the industry, to market leading multinational operators, mineral operating companies of all sizes and types, and property developers.

Our range of expertise lets us take you through the full life cycle of your site, from acquisition and prospecting to restoration, aftercare and the maximisation of natural capital. We act for both landowners and operators of all sizes, giving us a 360-degree perspective and an appreciation of the value of fostering cooperative, long-term relationships between all parties.

Our work in Minerals & Natural Resources includes:

  • Taking an option with rights to explore, submit planning permission and subject to planning, lease or purchase the minerals
  • Advising on the ownership of mineral rights and ensuring they are in place or acquiring them
  • Trespass cases arising out of surface development
  • Acting for either developers or mineral owners
  • Identifying mining code claims to ensure maximum profit is extracted from a site for both landowner and operator

Notable cases

  • Acquisition of mineral rights to facilitate on £70m business flotation
  • Sale of mineral rights for £30m with put and call options exercisable on restoration with overage
  • Development of suite of documents to facilitate sale of mineral interests using Treasury Style arrangements
  • Acclaim on behalf of operating company in relation to disputed mineral rights and litigation in the Court of Appeal setting the modern law on mineral ownership Coleman v Ibstock Brick Limited
  • Completed dovetailed mineral leases with four landowners to extend workings for a national aggregates business, including negotiation of the associated s106 Agreement
  • Completed site acquisition and due diligence for a national house builder for the purposes of a large-scale housing development in the Peak District
  • Acted for a client, Northern Lithium, who are looking to secure the rights to 185 sq km of land to explore and extract lithium — a major deal, likely to be worth a huge amount to the client with the value of lithium growing at a huge rate, increasing by 35% already in 2022.

Who have our Partners worked with?

  • The Crown Estate
  • Forterra Building Products Ltd
  • Ibstock Brick Ltd
  • Tarmac Ltd
  • Aggregate Industries Ltd
  • Cemex UK Operations UK Ltd

Key Contacts

Paul Calladine

Partner

Minerals & Natural Resources

Sima Kanan

Partner

Funds/Asset Management

Gillian Pelham

Partner

Commercial Real Estate & Minerals

News and Insights from our Partners


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