Full title (primary subtitle): Model Mining Development Agreement – Transparency Template

This report, prepared by the Sustainable Development Strategies Group for the World Bank, provides a detailed analysis and transparency template based on the International Bar Association's (IBA) Model Mining Development Agreement (MMDA) Version 1.0. It outlines the essential components of modern mine development agreements, emphasizing the balance between investor security and the sustainable development of host countries and communities. The document includes a template of MMDA sections, an explanatory narrative on key clauses, and a research summary on the absence of a similar international model for the oil and gas sector.

• The Model Mining Development Agreement (MMDA) 1.0 is a distillation of several dozen existing mine development agreements and the result of extensive consultation with mining law and policy experts. It provides 'lead clauses' alongside alternative clauses to accommodate the diversity of commodities and the varying legal and regulatory capacities of different countries.
• The report emphasizes that mining agreements should be public documents to ensure transparency. The MMDA suggests that the agreement and its ancillary documents—such as environmental and social impact assessments and closure plans—be freely available to the public, with limited exceptions for proprietary business secrets or personal privacy.
• The MMDA advocates for a 'win-win-win' approach to sustainable development by establishing mutual obligations for both the state and the company. This includes shared commitments to protect human rights, prevent corruption, and adhere to international floor standards, such as the IFC Performance Standards, when domestic laws are less stringent.
• The document identifies four primary royalty models to distribute risk between the state and the company: profit-based royalties (most sensitive to price fluctuations), gross value-based royalties (steady revenue, easy to administer), net value-based royalties (allows deduction of production/selling costs), and unit-based royalties (fixed price per unit, often used for industrial minerals like coal).
• Regarding fiscal stabilization, the MMDA rejects open-ended tax stabilization for the full contract term. Instead, it proposes specific, time-limited 'stability periods' and encourages negotiated solutions to maintain economic equilibrium before resorting to compensation.
• The report highlights the critical importance of Community Development Agreements (CDAs) as separate instruments from the main mining agreement. The MMDA suggests that a breach of a CDA should be considered a breach of the main mine development agreement, thereby elevating the status of community obligations to be enforceable.
• Mine closure is treated as a process starting at the project's outset. The MMDA requires a closure plan to be developed initially, updated every five years, and backed by a financial guarantee provided to the state to ensure that clean-up costs are not left to the local government or community.
• The report identifies a significant gap in the petroleum sector, concluding that there is currently no internationally accepted 'model' oil and gas development agreement similar to the MMDA. While many national form contracts exist, none possess the broad international acceptance required to serve as a universal template.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (n.d.). Full title (primary subtitle): Model Mining Development Agreement – Transparency Template. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/mmda_transparency_report.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Full title (primary subtitle): Model Mining Development Agreement – Transparency Template. n.d. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/mmda_transparency_report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Full title (primary subtitle): Model Mining Development Agreement – Transparency Template |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/mmda_transparency_report.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopmentndfull, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Full title (primary subtitle): Model Mining Development Agreement – Transparency Template}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/mmda_transparency_report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }