Locations
Fieldfisher's flagship mining team has advised privately held Vardar Minerals Ltd in connection with an investment into Vardar by AIM-listed Beowulf Mining plc.
Beowulf acquired a 14% equity stake in UK-based Vardar in return for a cash payment of £250,000. Beowulf has an option to acquire a further 27% interest in Vardar for an investment of £750,000.
Vardar is a private exploration company with four wholly owned exploration licences in Kosovo and the option to earn into two additional licences.
The investment by Beowulf will enable the company to accelerate the development of these licences with the backing of an experienced stakeholder, whose name is widely recognised in the mining industry.
Nordic-focused Beowulf's stake in Vardar is intended to give it exposure to a number of porphyry-related copper, gold and base metal targets in Kosovo's prospective Tethys Arc.
The region is rapidly becoming a focus for major exploration investment, following significant discoveries in the last decade.
Beowulf's investment in Vardar, which was announced on 6 November, is the latest in a series of mining deals Fieldfisher has advised on this year.
The firm is ranked as one of the leading advisers to early stage mining companies in the UK and has particular expertise in guiding companies through the financing of the exploration and development stages of their projects.
Brad Isaac, corporate partner at Fieldfisher who advised Vardar, commented:
"We were pleased to facilitate this investment relationship between two motivated UK mining companies.
"Both our private and listed mining clients have successfully raised money this year through a variety of funding routes and they continue to shine a spotlight on prospective and exciting projects.
"As well as assisting several companies with projects in emerging jurisdictions, Fieldfisher's mining team has advised a number of mining companies with projects based in Europe this year, demonstrating the importance of the mining industry to developed as well as developing economies.
"In 2018, we have worked with businesses progressing licences in Cornwall, Northern Ireland, Spain and the Balkans, among others.
"We look forward to extending our reach further next year, as our African and European body of mining instructions continues to grow."
About Fieldfisher
Fieldfisher is a European law firm with market leading practices in many of the world's most dynamic sectors. We are an exciting, forward-thinking organisation with a particular focus on energy & natural resources, technology, finance & financial services, life sciences and media.
Fieldfisher's dedicated mining team advises companies, metals traders, banks and investment funds on alternative financing arrangements in the mining sector, including prepay and offtake funding agreements and is one of the leading firms in this niche area of the market.
The firm recently published an updated perspective on the use of alternative financing in the mining sector, which has expanded to include crowdfunding, crypto currencies and private equity ownership models alongside traditional equity, debt and project finance.
Fieldfisher is also the fourth largest adviser to companies listed on London's AIM market, many of which are in the mining and energy sectors.
Our network has more than 1,450 people working across 24 offices providing highly commercial advice based on an in-depth understanding of our clients' needs.
We operate across our offices in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Beijing, Belfast, Birmingham, Bologna, Brussels, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Guangzhou, Hamburg, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Manchester, Milan, Munich, Paris, Rome, Shanghai, Turin, Venice and Silicon Valley.
Fieldfisher is currently Law Firm of the Year - Legal Business Awards 2018.