ARMINES falls within the framework of the law of 18^th April 2006 which allows public higher education or research establishments to entrust their contractual research activities to private structures.

It is contracted to its partner schools by state-approved agreements, at the forefront of which is the Paris École des Mines (MINES ParisTech) and the network of “Écoles des Mines”- Saint-Étienne, Douai, Alès, Nantes and Albi-Carmaux- under the supervision of the Ministry for industry. ARMINES is strongly involved in the laboratories of the École Polytechnique, the École Nationale Supérieure de Techniques Avancées (ENSTA ParisTech), the École Navale and the École des Ponts et Chaussées (École des Ponts ParisTech).

With its Association status under the law of 1901, it has autonomy of management, giving it the speed of reaction necessary to create research centers which can engage with the economic sphere: to be able to decide, to fulfill its responsibilities, to react and be free of certain administrative workload allows it to take on activities for which the researchers need a free rein.

With a 600-strong workforce, it takes part in developing the research centers it shares with its partner schools, in three forms:

- a management structure for collaborative research for which it manages the contracts and the financial revenue;
- it provides temporary resources (human and material) for the research centers to carry out the contracts effectively;
- it has its own permanently employed research personnel within the research centers, who contribute to their running and research work.

To support the researchers in their endeavors, ARMINES has at its disposal a central department which performs, for all of its centers, the legal and economic control of its research contracts, help with setting up and following contracts, management of intellectual property, and staff management, administration, accounting and finance.

Lastly, ARMINES acts under the control of a government steward.