Mining agreements often reflect governments' political aspirations. To allow their deals to conclude with minimum risk and maximum benefit, mining investors must know and understand the priorities of the governments of the countries involved and their implications. The form and substance of mining agreements vary considerably and may be adapted to suit a country's particular legal and socioeconomic framework and the peculiarities of the sector of the mining industry concerned. Developing countries are now relentlessly competing for investment funds, offering attractive conditions for...