Norton Rose Fulbright advises on US$200M financing for Kamoa mine expansion

Global law firm, Norton Rose Fulbright has advised Kamoa Copper S.A. on the US$200M financing in relation to phase three of the expansion of its operations at the world-class Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex (Kamoa) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The financing for phase three of Kamoa was arranged by Rawbank SA with FirstBank DRC SA and Absa Bank also providing funding. The funds will contribute towards the mine’s goal to produce 600,000 tonnes of ore as well as generate an additional 178 megawatts (MW) of clean hydroelectric power for the national grid.

The Kamoa-Kakula Copper Mine is undergoing a phased expansion that will make it the third-largest copper complex globally. It is predicted that the mine will have the lowest greenhouse gas emission per unit of metal produced as a result of the hydroelectric power source and because of its small surface footprint it has a favourable environmental footprint compared to any tier-one copper mine worldwide.

The multi-disciplinary team from Norton Rose Fulbright was led-by London-based Partner, Martin McCann who was supported by senior adviser Kathryn Ward. They acted as international legal counsel and advised on all aspects of the deal for the business, including completing due-diligence and cross border legal advice.

Martin McCann, commented:

“This is a wonderful transaction. We have an amazing mature practice advising existing investors in the DRC expand their resources. The Kamoa Copper SA team is clearly one of the market leaders.  Kamoa will no doubt be further expanded, and we look forward to supporting the Kamoa Copper SA team on their future growth. In addition to investors with decades of experience in the DRC, we have also seen a wall of new possible entrants, particularly from the US, attracted to the quality of the DRC resource base, looking at the DRC for the first time.”

With a combined team of over 1,500 lawyers across all practice areas, Norton Rose Fulbright has one of the largest and most prolific energy, infrastructure and natural resources teams of any law firm in the world. The firm’s lawyers have been at the heart of many of the world’s leading energy and infrastructure projects, including innovative and first-to-market transactions across a variety of sectors including LNG, nuclear, mining, power and utilities, and renewables.