For the first time in its long and eventful history, Afghanistan has the opportunity to transform its vast mineral and hydrocarbon resources into wealth for current and future generations of Afghan citizens. Through the mechanism of private investment, the Government of Afghanistan is striving to convert the nation’s mineral wealth into substantial financial capital for sustainable economic development.

The Government has introduced targeted legal and policy reforms to open up the sector for large-scale investments, such as: 

• Enactment of the new Minerals and Hydrocarbon Law.
• Regulations for mining, hydrocarbon, and environmental impact assessment.
• Implementation of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, the global standard for mining.
• Implementation of the Afghanistan Resources Corridor Project. 

Kakar Advocates has assembled a network of high caliber and reputable experts to provide international standard services to our domestic and international clients who seek to explore, exploit, process, and trade minerals in Afghanistan. We have experience in negotiating contracts for several large scale mining assets. Our firm also contributed to Chambers and Partners 2018 and 2019 Legal Guide to Mining.

We provide our clients with a comprehensive analysis of every legal matter arising from their activities, offering them both innovative solutions and proven processes that best suit their needs. Our legal services include:

• Drafting and negotiating concessions, production sharing contracts, service agreements, joint operating agreements, and earn-in and farm-in agreements.
• Drafting and negotiating mineral lease agreements, and drilling and coring agreements.
• Obtaining permits for exploration and exploitation.
• Environmental impact assessments related to mining projects.
• Legal audits of mining assets and legal opinions on mining issues.
• Drafting and negotiating equipment acquisition and lease agreements, and off-take and hedging agreements.
• Legal due diligence for the acquisition and sale of mining projects and assets.

As a result of our active engagement in the mining sector in Afghanistan, our team of experts has developed an in-depth understanding of the opportunities and challenges presented by the regulatory framework in the sector.

Kakar Advocates is also well-positioned to provide strategic advisory and consulting services to the Government of Afghanistan and international development institutions.  We strengthen the policy and regulatory framework of the mining sector by:

• Designing and developing organizational and governance structures for the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative standards (EITI).
• Drafting and designing regulatory content in accordance with the EITI criteria.
• Assessing the impact of policy alternatives for mining development.
• Offering training and capacity-building services related to EITI-based topics.
• Providing legislative, regulatory, and contractual strategic advice to projects funded by multilateral development banks.