London office advises First Quantum Minerals on US$500M copper prepay arrangement

Global law firm, Norton Rose Fulbright has advised Vancouver-based First Quantum Minerals on its US$500M three-year copper prepay arrangement with the largest copper producer in mainland China.

The three-year arrangement will enable First Quantum Minerals to deliver 50,000 tonnes of copper anode per year from Kansanshi mine in Zambia. It has been agreed that the prepaid amount will reduce in line with deliveries of the copper anode in the second and third term of the prepay arrangement.

First Quantum Minerals is a global copper company. It produces copper in the form of concentrate, cathode and anode, and has inventories of nickel, gold and cobalt. It prides itself on operating long life mines in several countries and employs approximately 20,000 people world-wide.

The multi-disciplinary team from Norton Rose Fulbright was led-by London-based Partner, Martin McCann who was supported by London-based Counsel James Rennard, Senior Adviser Kathryn Ward and Toronto-based Partner Evan Cobb. Together they advised First Quantum Minerals on all legal aspects of the prepay arrangement.

Martin McCann, commented:

“This is a fantastic transaction for First Quantum Minerals and we are delighted to have supported them on this ground breaking deal. Copper is one of the most important minerals in the deliverance of a sustainable energy transition. Between our clients in Zambia and the DRC it's one of the most exciting parts of our mining business and the pipeline of deals looks astonishing.”

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.