Norton Rose Fulbright advises Appian Capital Advisory on the development of the Serrote Copper/Gold Project in Brazil

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised Appian Capital Advisory (“Appian”) as sponsor on the project financing of the Serrote copper and gold mine in Brazil, owned by Mineração Vale Verde do Brasil Ltda (the “Project”). Appian is the investment advisor to private equity funds of over US$1.2bn that invest solely in mining and mining-related companies. 

The financing package includes a US$140m committed senior secured project financing facility from ING Capital LLC, Société Genéralé and Natixis, New York Branch. The intention is that a royalty is also purchased in the Project. The financing package will be used for completion of the construction of the 4.1 million tonnes per annum Project, expected to achieve first production in the second half of 2021.

Martin McCann, partner and Global Head of Business at Norton Rose Fulbright, comments:

“We are delighted to have assisted Appian, a long-term PE client, and the other parties to achieve close. It is not easy to close a project financing in a global pandemic and it is a testament to the hard work of all parties to get this over the line. Our deal pipeline is incredibly strong for 2021, including other major Brazilian developments. People imagine that it’s only our gold business has been busy this year. However, all of the battery metals and copper remain very strong driven from Lat Am and Africa. This is part of the energy transition we see dominating mining for the next decade. We see many new deals being driven by private equity and debt funds going forwards.”

The multi-jurisdictional Norton Rose Fulbright team was led by Martin McCann and senior associate Felicity Brown, with assistance from partners Jon Perry, Daniel Franks, counsel Richard Blackburn and associate Temi Adetugbo in the London office. Partner Noam Ayali and senior associate Rachel Crouch in the Washington office advised on New York law matters. Partner Charles Johnson and senior associate Diego Brandao provided assistance on Brazilian matters, and partners Bart Le Blanc, Joris Ravelli, senior associate Yannick Schuerman and associate Sam Jonkeren advised on Dutch law matters.