15 October 2010 - Gide Loyrette Nouel advises on the first Polish investment in Canada:

Gide Loyrette Nouel advised KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. - the 9th largest producer of copper and the 3rd largest producer of silver in the world - on the establishment of a joint venture with Canadian mining company - Abacus Mining & Exploration, with a view to exploring and exploiting deposits of copper and precious metals as part of the Afton-Ajax project in Kamloops, in British Columbia in Canada, and assisted with the conclusion of several agreements on the joint activities of the company.

KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. acquired a 51% stake in the company in exchange for a cash contribution, while Abacus acquired its 49% of shares in exchange for in-kind contributions such as property rights and mining exploitation rights over 8,000 hectares.

Dariusz Tokarczuk, partner in charge of Gide Loyrette Nouel Warsaw office - said: "It is worth noting that this is the first ever Polish investment in Canada, and that it is an ambitious industrial project involving the construction and operation of mines of copper and precious metals. This creates new opportunities for Polish expansion on the market, which until now seemed distant and unavailable."

Acting for Gide Loyrette Nouel in its role as legal advisor to KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. were: Dariusz Tokarczuk and Rafal Dziedzic - partners and Edyta Zalewska - senior associate.