14 LEXPERT
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2017/18
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WWW.LEXPERT.CA
But the low price of iron ore, one of the most heavily
mined commodities in Québec, makes new production
uneconomic now. Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. shut
down its iron-ore mine at Lake Bloom in 2015, and
other companies in the area have retreated.
e first project to come online under Plan Nord
is Stornoway Diamond Corp.'s diamond mine — the
province's first — at Renard in north-central Québec,
350 kilometres north of Chibougamau. A 240-kilome-
tre extension of Route 167 made the project possible,
but cost overruns that pushed the road's cost to $300
million prompted the province to renegotiate its share
of the financing.
e road extension has allowed Stornoway to drive
in crews and equipment, as well as liquefied natural
gas to power the mine operations — limiting the need
for visits via float plane or helicopter. e extension is
expected to open other mining projects, and allows
for exploration work that would otherwise depend on
costly helicopter flights. Stornoway previously built a
small airport near the mine. e Québec Government's
Société du Plan Nord acquired Cliffs Natural Resources'
terminal assets at Pointe-Noire, in the Port of Sept-Îles
last year, with the intention of developing a multi-user
terminal handling facility.
A $220-million expansion is underway at Pointe-
Noire to construct a deep-water dock with an annual
capacity of 50 million tonnes per year. is expansion
will allow larger shipping vessels to dock at the Port.
is will be the only dock on the east coast of North
America that the Chinamax cargo ship will be able to
use, due to its size.
But a proposed 800-kilometre, $5-billion rail line
from Schefferville south to Sept-Îles was shelved in
2013, when CN Rail and Caisse de dépôt et placement
du Québec abandoned their plans due to delayed min-
ing projects. "e resources are there, they've been ex-
plored," says Kazaz, "It's a matter of putting in the in-
frastructure to get them developed. e question then
becomes, who pays for that?
"Up until now," he says, "most of the development has
been in areas where there's existing infrastructure and
mining development has been able to benefit from that.
If Québec really wants to develop this new territory, the
infrastructure has to go in and [it's a matter of ] who
pays for it, and whether that makes the mining project
financially viable or not."
While the federal government intends to launch its
$35-billion Canada Infrastructure Bank by the end of
the year, Garrett suspects the projects it backs will be
driven by the needs of local authorities. He says: "You
can easily foresee scenarios where local communities will
work with a prospective mine developer to put in place
infrastructure that will help develop a mine but also ben-
efit local communities."
Fashler, Robert A. Gowling WLG
(604) 443-7616 robert.fashler@gowlingwlg.com
Mr. Fashler is a lawyer, trade-mark agent, arbitrator and mediator with
expertise in the protection, commercialization and enforcement of trade
secrets, intellectual property and technology. He has significant experi-
ence assisting clients engaged in mineral exploration, extraction,
processing and sale.
Fortier, Michael J. Torys LLP
(416) 865-8147 mfortier@torys.com
Mr. Fortier's mining practice focuses on the environmental and Aboriginal
law aspects of M&A and financing transactions, as well as project develop-
ment. He has considerable experience dealing with significant permitting,
tailings and reclamation issues.
Fraiberg, Jeremy D. Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
(416) 862-6505 jfraiberg@osler.com
Mr. Fraiberg is Co-chair of Osler's M&A Group. He has acted for public
and private companies, private-equity firms and investment banks
on a range of acquisitions, securities offerings and other
corporate transactions.
Fridman, Richard Davies Ward Phillips
& Vineberg LLP (416) 367-7483 rfridman@dwpv.com
Mr. Fridman has extensive experience advising clients in the mining
sector on all aspects of their businesses and operations. He assists
clients on matters related to M&A, joint ventures, earn-in arrangements,
streaming and royalty transactions, offtake arrangements and disclosure
obligations. He acts for major producers, junior exploration companies
and private-equity funds with a mining focus.
Gauvin, Mira Gowling WLG
(514) 392-9591 mira.gauvin@gowlingwlg.com
Ms. Gauvin advises clients on compliance with environmental laws,
obtaining and transferring environmental permits, land rehabilitation
projects and the implementation and closure of industrial and mining
sites. She analyzes and consults on the impacts of jurisprudential and
legislative developments on client activities and on due diligence in the
context of various types of business transactions.
Gilbert, Mindy B. Davies Ward Phillips
& Vineberg LLP (416) 367-6907 mgilbert@dwpv.com
Ms. Gilbert advises on domestic and cross-border public and private of-
ferings, M&A and loan financings. Her mining sector experience includes
advising on offerings of equity and debt, PIPE transactions and joint
venture arrangements.
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