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Albania : Mining Sector Reform, Restructuring and Future ProspectsThis report provides a concise overview of the current situation of the mining sector in Albania. It evaluates the major events that took place in the last two decades (especially regarding the privatization process), and examines its governance, overarching policies and its legal frameworks that have guided the sector development. Having identified the weaknesses and difficulties that the sector faces, the report then suggests an outline for a comprehensive reform program. The main findings in this regard are related to: improving sector governance; improving regulatory effectiveness; strengthening the technical capacities; addressing environmental and social legacy, and community benefit sharing issues; and sustaining sector growth through sector promotion. The report also summarizes an evaluation of the mineral legal and regulatory environment, in order to inform an overall reform strategy and to identify commodities and/or resource areas of particular interest going forward, 'low hanging fruit' that might offer new growth opportunities. The overall conclusion of the report is that sector reform should emphasize new Greenfield resource potential through generative exploration by smaller and medium-sized international 'junior' mining companies. New resource development will be undertaken within a strengthened governance framework reinforced by a competitive, transparent, stable, non-discretionary regulatory regime. Although now highly fragmented, existing operations will be improved with the introduction of new operations performing to international good practice. Additionally, the private sector should be enabled to consolidate license holdings under improved regulatory enforcement that prevents licenses being held for speculation without intention to undertake meaningful investments that will result in development.
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Sector Licensing StudiesThis report is intended to provide
 guidance on best practices in mining licensing, based on
 examples from low, middle and high income countries in
 Africa, Asia, North America, and South America. It is not a
 'how-to guide' or a licensing implementation
 toolkit, but rather identifies certain common features of
 successful mining licensing regimes worldwide that other
 national or sub-national jurisdictions might usefully
 incorporate in new mining laws and regulations or revisions
 or existing ones. The case studies and other examples of
 good and bad practice are intended to provide a
 cross-section by geography and by income level, and they
 demonstrate that the prevalence of good and bad practices is
 not simply a function of income level. Tanzania, one of the
 poorest countries in the world, has in many respects a
 better licensing regime than either South Africa or the U.S.
 State of Wisconsin. In considering these complex issues, it
 has proven difficult to confine the discussion purely to
 questions of licensing. Discussion of licensing invariably
 invokes reference to overall policy and investment climate
 issues, environmental protection, labor law, taxation,
 national and sub-national jurisdiction, land tenure, and
 much more. This report makes no attempt to address all of
 these in detail but refers to them in reference to their
 interactions with and effect on, licensing itself. Far more
 detailed research on mineral policy, taxation, investment
 climate, and other issues has been carried out, some of it
 referred to in this report and cited in the footnotes and bibliography.
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Sierra Leone : Tapping the Mineral Wealth for Human Progress, A Break with the PastPolitical instability and lack of an enabling and internationally competitive environment conducive to attracting investments particularly affected the mining sector. Excessive government control and attempts to raise higher foreign exchange and fiscal revenues from artisanal diamond activities were detrimental to artisanal mining development. The study provides an assessment and analysis of the economic and social importance of the mining sector in Sierra Leone and its impact on economic outcomes. It makes recommendations and identifies an action plan for mining sector revival and development. The Government presented this report to the stakeholders, including its international development partners, at a workshop in May 2003. The outcome of the discussions and recommendations is reflected in the report. The resulting report was subsequently discussed in a second national workshop during January 2004. Since January 2003, the Ministry of Mineral Resources has focused on a number of fronts including: formation of a core mineral policy; deepening the policy work through a review of the mineral and regulatory framework; efforts to improve the development of basic mapping geo-information; completion of the initial work required for improved administration and management of mineral rights through a cadastre system; improvements in productivity, safety, and environmental conditions of mining activities; increased transparency in mineral sector revenues through the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and Kimberley Process; and improved social conditions in the mining areas. These efforts have led to positive results. Among the most notable are the sharp rise in diamond exports, the rehabilitation of a rutile mine initiated in May 2005, the current assessment of the possible reactivation of the existing bauxite mine during 2005; and a significant increase in mineral exploration.