Norton Rose Fulbright has advised on a raft of new mining transactions in the lead up to the end of 2013. The transactions are: Advising Aureus Mining on a US$88m loan facility agreement with Nedbank and Rand Merchant Bank and a US$12m subordinated loan agreement with RMB Resources to finance the development of its New Liberty Gold Project in Liberia. The loan facility is supported by Export Credit Insurance Corporation of South Africa (ECIC). The financing will support the development of Liberia’s first commercial gold mine, which is expected to begin production in March 2015. The transaction closed on 17 December; Advising Nedbank on a US$30m corporate financing for Sierra Rutile, the titanium feedstock minerals company in Sierra Leone. This follows the US$20 million already advanced. The funding will support the development of the Gangama Dry Mining project. The transaction closed on 13 December; Advising Merrill Lynch on a US$60 million acquisition financing to International Mining & Infrastructure Corporation to acquire the Cameroon-based mining company Afferro Mining. The transaction closed on 19 December; Advising Asanko Gold, the Vancouver-based mining company, in the US$320m development financing of the Esaase Gold Project in Ghana. The loan agreement, signed with Red Kite Mine Finance, comprises a US$130m term loan facility and a US$20m cost overrun facility, with the remaining project costs funded through equity. In addition to the loan agreement, Norton Rose Fulbright also advised Asanko Gold on an offtake agreement signed with Red Kite, under which Asanko Gold will sell gold from the Esaase Project for the life of the mine to Red Kite. The transaction closed on 23 October.
Martin McCann, global head of Infrastructure, Mining and Commodities at Norton Rose Fulbright, commented:
“It’s been a fantastic end to the year for our mining team. The pipeline already looks strong for the New Year. We hear so much about the absence of funding for mining. What these four transactions demonstrate is that there is finance available for the right projects, with management teams adopting a broader suite of structured products. Most of the green field deals closing include discounted offtake agreements, funded royalty arrangements, streaming arrangements or a subordinated mezzanine tranche. These may not be the traditional products for greenfield deals . However they are in my view here to stay. These deals should offer mining companies confidence for the year ahead.”
In June 2013 Norton Rose Fulbright was named Mining Law Firm of the Year in the Who’s Who Legal Awards for a second consecutive year. Its global mining practice is world leading, ranked in Tier 1 by leading legal directory Chambers Global 2013.
