John Connors is a senior consultant in Baker & McKenzie’s Beijing office and the chair of the Firm’s global Mining & Metals group. He is one of the Firm’s most experienced resources practitioners, with more than 30 years’ experience in minerals projects worldwide, including Australia (New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia), Indonesia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, China and Africa (DR Congo, Zambia, Guinea, Gabon, Madagascar and Mauritania). Prior to moving to Beijing in 2010, Mr.Connors served as a partner in the Firm’s Almaty/CIS, Sydney/Melbourne and Jakarta offices. He has held various management positions in each of these offices and served on a number of firm committees.

Practice Focus

Mr. Connors’ practice is focused on natural resources projects, joint ventures, acquisitions, mineral sales agreements, and exploration and project financing arrangements. His clients include mining and metals companies (diversified majors, commodity specialists, state-owned enterprises, midcaps and juniors) as well as trading companies, utilities and financial institutions.

Representative Legal Matters

• Acting for a leading international mining company in its bid and negotiations for participation in the development of a major greenfields coal project in Mongolia.
• Advising a prominent North American resources company in relation to an earn in arrangement regarding a copper project in Mongolia.
• Acting for diversified global major in negotiation of an exploration joint venture with a state owned mining company in Kazakhstan.
• Advising a consortium of Japanese companies in relation to the proposed acquisition of an interest in a foreign listed company holding Kazakhstan uranium interests.
• Advising a PRC consortium in relation to the acquisition of a strategic interest in a niobium mining operation in Brazil and offtake agreement.
• Advising an Australian based iron ore supplier in relation to the drafting and negotiation of several long term iron ore sales agreements with Chinese steel mills.
• Acting for a leading global mining company in its acquistion of a portfolio of coal mining and exploration assets in Queensland and NSW.
• Advising a PRC steel producer in relation to legal due diligence and preliminary agreements relating to its possible participation in a major iron ore project development in West Africa.
• Advising a prominent Korean resources company in relation to its participation in and offtake agreement from, a major nickel project in Madagascar.
• Advising a WA based junior exploration company in relation to its proposed investment in a gold exploration project in Java, Indonesia.

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Australian Mining and Petroleum Lawyers Association
• International Bar Association - Mining Law Committee
• Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation

Admission

Hong Kong (1984)
England & Wales~United Kingdom (1981)
New South Wales~Australia (1978)
Victoria~Australia (1975)

Education

University of London  (LL.M.) (1977)
University of Melbourne  (LL.B. Honours) (1974)
University of Melbourne  (B.A.) (1974)
University of Melbourne  (Diploma Criminology) (1974)