The Mining Advisory Council (“Council”) is a non-profit association incorporated in Toronto on June 3, 1999. The members of the Council are major international mining companies and the world’s leading gold mining companies active, or intending to be active, in the Russian market; junior mining companies; engineering companies; legal and accounting advisers; equipment suppliers and service companies; foreign diplomatic and trade representations and associations.
The mandate of the Council is to represent industry positions to the Russian Government. The mission of the Council is to work with the Government of the Russian Federation to create and maintain an investment climate in Russia that will attract foreign venture capital which is planning to make a sustainable business developing the country’s mining sector. The Council was created to speak on behalf of foreign investors to promote the dialogue with the Russian government needed to improve mutual understanding and facilitate the progress towards common objectives. The Council is the single united international voice for the mining industry in Russia. It is a large regularly meeting mining networking platform enabling free exchange and sharing news and views of the Russian mining sector.
The Council has established broad and productive relationships with the bodies of executive and legislative power of the Russian Federation. The Council members participate in key events held by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology, Federal Agency for Subsoil Use (Rosnedra), Ministry of Economic Development, Foreign Investment Advisory Council under the Government of the Russian Federation, State Duma (Russian Parliament) Committee on Natural Resources, Property and Land Relations, State Duma Energy Committee, Federation Council Committee for Agrarian and Food Policy and Environmental Management, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation.
The aims of the Council are:
- Promotion and qualified advising on the development of Russian legislation for the mining industry
- Advancing the interests of the members in the legislative and executive bodies of the Russian Federation, co-ordinating appropriate presentation of the views and positions of members in different governing agencies in the Russian Federation
- Facilitation of international investment in mining projects in the Russian Federation including by providing information to potential investors on general investment situation in the mining sector and current and expected changes in the legislation relative to the mining sector
- Providing a forum for members to exchange practical experience with the objective of minimizing commercial, legal and investment risks in the Russian Federation
- Establishing links between Council members and Russian and international service providers specializing in the mining sector
- Co-ordinating the activities of the Council with Russian associations targeting similar objectives.
The Council holds regular meetings on matters where its members have common interests. Representatives of Russia’s ministries and state agencies, Russian and foreign mining companies and gold mining companies, banks and investment funds, equipment and service suppliers, as well as business associations and public organizations, all take part in these meetings. The minutes of the meetings are sent to over 250 players in the mining sector in Russia and worldwide. To date, 65 Council meetings have been held which provided a forum for Russian and international speakers to present their business cases in the country’s mining sector.
The need for networking was the driving force behind the original founding of the Council, and we have developed a sophisticated networking system since the Council’s inception. Today the Council communicates to its members through the dissemination of information by e-mail, regular general meetings, regular and informal Board meetings, as well as wine and cheese parties.
