Mining deals defy the doubters
Mining M&A activity has defied the doubters and returned to prominence in 2014, with several big deals being struck and more in the pipeline. After an extremely slow 2013, the expectations for...
View ArticleQuebec lawyers optimistic about revived Plan Nord
Quebec’s mining lawyers are cautiously optimistic about the impact of the Liberal government’s revival of the Plan Nord mining project. “What lies ahead for Quebec’s mining industry is better than what...
View ArticleAugusta decision is no prescription for use of poison pills
The recent Augusta Resource Corp. case shows that Canadian securities regulators still find the use of the poison pill takeover defence tough to swallow. One might have thought otherwise after the...
View ArticleDrew Hasselback: Aboriginal court decisions shouldn’t be dealbreakers
You’ve heard varying degrees of panic over the Supreme Court of Canada’s rulings in Tsilhqot’in and Grassy Narrows. These are clearly important aboriginal rights decisions, and each will have a...
View ArticleOSC clears Waheed and Walter of insider trading in Baffinland case
The Ontario Securities Commission has exonerated Jowdat Waheed and Bruce Walter of insider trading allegations related to the takeover of Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. The OSC had alleged that Mr. Waheed...
View ArticleCall before you dig: Why Canada’s energy firms are increasingly calling on...
Grant Aylesworth recognizes that many people think archaeology involves khaki-clad researchers digging up museum-bound artifacts in exotic locales. That happens, but in Canada a growing number of...
View ArticleDavies Ward partner Kevin Thomson joins Barrick Gold
Barrick Gold Corp. has hired Kevin Thomson, a deals adviser, as senior vice-president of strategic matters starting next month. Thomson joins Barrick Oct. 14 after serving as Senior Partner at Davies...
View ArticleMining deals are keeping lawyers humming
With global commodity prices in a downward spin, it’s been a tough time to be in the mining game. The economics of big-budget projects have been thrown into question, forcing industry giants to...
View ArticleCorporate social responsibility is about the action, not the talk
You might think that embracing Corporate Social Responsibility is a matter of public relations, but there are practical legal reasons for mining companies to have a CSR strategy in place. Delivering on...
View ArticleCanadian mining companies face lawsuits over foreign activities
Vancouver-based Nevsun Resources Ltd. joined an interesting club last month when three plaintiffs said they are suing the company in a B.C. trial court, alleging forced labour and other human rights...
View ArticlePDAC 2015: Lawyers still look to China for mining deals
China’s demand for metals has been a big part of the mining story over the past decade. China’s economy grew an average of 9.6% between 1990 and 2010. The country needed basic materials, that fueled...
View ArticlePDAC 2015: Fasken study reveals odds of hostile takeover success
You hear a lot about hostile takeover bids bids. So you might wonder, what are the odds of success for the company that launches the unsolicited takeover battle? According to a study by law firm Fasken...
View ArticleExploration option agreements need to be specific
Exploration option agreements negotiated by sophisticated parties mean what they say and nothing more, says the British Columbia Court of Appeal in a recent decision called American Creek Resources...
View ArticleWhy corporate social responsibility is now part of due diligence
The rising potential of human rights cases and securities class actions, along with some new Canadian government regulations, show that if a company pays lip service to corporate social responsibility,...
View ArticleB.C. trial court won’t hear human rights lawsuit filed by Guatemalans against...
The British Columbia Supreme Court has declined to hear a lawsuit filed in June 2014 by seven Guatemalans who sought damages for injuries they claim to have suffered at the hands of security personnel...
View ArticlePotash Corp. sues over alleged flaws in construction of $2.2-billion New...
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. is suing the engineering company that built part of its $2.2 billion Picadilly mine in New Brunswick, alleging that construction flaws have resulted in the “complete...
View ArticleOntario judge slams use of ‘boiler plate’ submissions in class action...
Justice Edward Belobaba of the Ontario Superior Court on Friday approved a $17-million settlement in a securities class action brought against gold miner Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. and three of its...
View ArticlePDAC 2016: Stikeman lawyer offers miners alternative to insolvency proceedings
Like several Canadian law firms, Stikeman Elliott LLP holds a variety of seminars on mining law during the PDAC convention. The current state of mining industry is perhaps best summed up with the...
View ArticlePDAC 2016: Whither the flow-through share?
Like several Canadian law firms, Stikeman Elliott LLP holds a variety of seminars on mining law during the PDAC convention. Stikeman’s collection of rapid-fire, “7-minute mining” seminars on Monday...
View ArticlePDAC 2016: How the mining well is running dry for the TSX Venture Exchange
Mining has for years served as the anchor of Canada’s junior stock market, the TSX Venture Exchange. But as pretty much everyone knows, this isn’t the greatest time to be a junior miner looking for...
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