Mining Charta

Purpose

As more and bigger states formed along the Great Rift they laid claim to parts of the rifts orefields. As these newly claimed fields often were too big to be harvested by the new goverments a solution was needed to organise and control the mining operations which before had ( and still are in unclaimed territories) mostly been conducted by many small independent miners who simply took what nobody else had taken. The solution was found in the Mining Charta; these documents are issued to miners by different states and allow them to harvest specific fields of ore. In return for this right and the protection of the right by the armed forces of the state issuing the Charta the miners have to meet certain obligations which vary from state to state but most often included: selling to the government first, giving part of the profits over to the government and keeping track of and reporting all ore they mine. Over the years the Mining Charta has sus proven a vital tool in taxation and organisation of mining operations.

Document Structure

Clauses

A Mining Charta includes three important parts. The first part is the traditional phrase of the Charta detailing the intent of the Charta, displaying the state insignia and - in most cases- the signature of a government official who approved the Charta e.g. a Minister of Ressources. It also includes the details of the person or company who is granted the Charta and their signature. The second part details the exact location of the orefields the Charta covers as well as the extent of the granted mining rights while the third part lists the conditions of the Charta and the consequences of not abiding to these conditions.

Caveats

As the different conditions of a Charta differ from state to state so do the caveats. but some are common. For example almost every Charta is limited in duration and expires after a few years though issuing a new Charta to those who held the fields already is common. The consequences of breaking the other conditions are - though varied- generally that the state will revoke the Charta and declaring the miner breaking the Charta outlaw to be hunted and brought before a judge.

Publication Status

A Mining Charta is not publically accessible as the two copies of any given Charta are either in government storage or in the hands of the miner who holds it. They may be acessed by government security and judicial forces. The information which is publicly accessible is which fields are currently under Charta and how long they will continue to be so as that information is important for the mining companies. The holder of the Mining Charta is also required to show it to security forces of the states it belongs to.

Legal status

A Mining Charta is obviously valid under the laws of the State issuing it. These states keep copies of every Charta they issue and guarantee their validity. Those states allied or neutral are expected to acknowledge a foreighn Charta as that is to acknowledge the states claim on the orefields covered by the Charta. Reversely rival states may contest a Charta or even issue one for the same fields themselves. These are acts of provocation which can lead to open war as the states are forced to prove their commitment to guarding the rights they guarantee. Some states are also known to work with miners to steal ore from foreighn fields and to offer safe haven for those who broke the conditions of their Charta.

Type

Warrant, Civil

Medium

Paper