Biography

Spotlight

Stuart Breen boasts a superb reputation for his vast experience in handling an array of complex corporate and commercial matters for high-profile mining clients.

- Who's Who Legal Mining 2017

Stuart is the head of the Corporate Finance and Securities Group at Lawson Lundell. For over twenty years, his practice has focused on corporate and commercial law, with an emphasis on corporate finance and securities and mergers and acquisitions.

Stuart acts for domestic and international companies in a wide variety of transactions including equity and debt financings, business combinations, acquisitions and stock exchange listings. He also regularly advises clients on corporate and securities regulatory compliance issues and corporate governance matters.

Stuart has extensive experience acting for clients involved in the mineral exploration, development and mining industry, including advising clients on and completing commercial transactions such as joint ventures, option/earn-ins, royalties, strategic investments, and asset acquisitions, in respect of projects in dozens of jurisdictions worldwide. He also regularly provides advice on the unique continuous disclosure requirements of companies in the mining industry. 

Professional Activities

  • Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, Member
  • Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia, Member 
  • Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, Member

Community Activities

  • Dunbar Little League, Coach and Tournament Team Coach
  • Vancouver United Football Club, Coach 

Recognitions & Rankings

Recognitions & Rankings

  • Thomson Reuters "Stand-out Lawyer" 2023-2024
  • Chambers Canada 2024: recognized for Energy & Natural Resources: Mining - Nationwide (Band 5) 
  • Best Lawyers in Canada 2015-2024: recognised for Mergers & Acquisitions, Mining Law, and Securities Law
  • Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory (2023-2024): recommended as a leading practitioner for Mining Law
  • Chambers Global 2023-2024: recognized for Mining - International & Cross-Border (Band 5)
  • Who's Who Legal Canada:
    • recommended in Mining (Global Guide) 2024
    • recommended in Mining (Canada) 2023
  • Acritas Stars 2019-2021
  • International Who’s Who of Mining Lawyers 2014-2015: recognized as being among the world's leading mining lawyers
  • Lexpert 2013 Guide to the Leading US/Canada Cross-Border Corporate Lawyers in Canada: recognized as one of Canada's Corporate Lawyers to Watch
  • Lexpert Rising Star Award 2012: recognized as one of Canada's Leading Lawyers under 40
  • Business in Vancouver’s Forty Under 40 Award (2012): Leading Business Professionals Under 40

Experience

Experience

  • Acting for B2Gold Corp. in connection with its A$3.6M strategic investment in ASX-listed Matador Mining Ltd.
  • Acting for B2Gold Corp. in connection with its acquisition of Oklo Resources Limited, an ASX-listed corporation and holder of the Dandoko Gold Project located in Mali, by way of a court-approved scheme of arrangement under Australian law. Under the scheme, B2Gold Corp. acquired 100% of the ordinary shares of Oklo in consideration for 0.0206 of a common share of B2Gold Corp. and A$0.0525 in cash for each Oklo share. On closing, B2Gold Corp. issued an aggregate of 10,742,814 B2Gold Corp. shares and paid aggregate cash consideration of approximately A$27.4 million to Oklo shareholders.
  • Acting for B2Gold Corp. in connection with the sale of its Ondundu gold project located in Namibia to Osino Resources Corp for aggregate consideration of US$15.2 million payable in cash and shares of Osino.  
  • Acting for B2Gold Corp. in connection with the sale of its 81% interest in the Kiaka gold project located in Burkina Faso to West African Resources for closing consideration of US$22.5 million in cash, 22,190,508 shares of WAF, and a net smelter return royalty as well as an additional payment of US$45 million on the earlier of (i) commencement of construction at the Kiaka project, (ii) completion of a positive feasibility study at the Kiaka project, and (iii) October 25, 2022.
  • Acting for B2Gold Corp. in connection with the sale of its Nicaraguan mining assets, including the producing El Limon and La Libertad gold mines, to Calibre Mining Corp. for aggregate consideration of US$100 million comprised of a combination of cash, common shares and a convertible debenture.
  • Advising B2Gold Corp. in the filing of a short form base shelf prospectus with the securities commissions in each of the provinces of Canada and a corresponding shelf registration statement on Form F-10  with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the U.S./Canada Multijurisdictional Disclosure System.
  • Advising B2Gold Corp. in connection with an at the market offering in Canada and the United States having an aggregate gross offering price of up to US$100,000,000.
  • Advising B2Gold Corp. in connection with its exploration, development and mining projects in Mali, Namibia, the Philippines, Nicaragua, Burkina Faso and Colombia.
  • Advising B2Gold Corp. in connection with the development and construction of its Fekola mine in Mali.
  • Advising B2Gold Corp. in connection with its joint venture agreement with AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. for the Gramalote project in Colombia.
  • Advising Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. in connection with the option of its Skinner and Golden Sidewalk properties to Prosper Gold Corp.
  • Advising OnCore BioPharma on Canadian matters in its announced merger with Tekmira Pharmaceuticals. Under the announced terms of the merger, valued at $US 750 million, OnCore will merge with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tekmira and will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tekmira. Upon completion, OnCore shareholders will hold approximately 50% of the total number of outstanding shares of Tekmira on a fully-diluted, as converted basis.
  • Advising Catalyst Paper Corporation in its acquisition of the Biron paper mill located in Wisconsin and the Rumford pulp and paper mill located in Maine, USA from NewPage Corporation, NewPage Wisconsin System Inc., and Rumford Paper Company for a purchase price of US$74 million together with the associated acquisition financing and related increase in Catalyst’s ABL Credit Facility from CDN$175 million to CDN$225 million and US$25million (principal amount) offering of PIK Toggle Senior Secured Notes .
  • Advising Aura Minerals Inc. in obtaining a US$15.5 million gold loan from Auramet International LLC, a subsidiary of Auramet Trading LLC. 
  • Acting for the special committee of Dunav Resources Ltd. in connection with its merger with Avala Resources Ltd. The merger was completed by way of a plan of arrangement under the British Columbia Business Corporations Act. 
  • British Columbia counsel for a biopharmaceutical company in connection with its proposed merger with a Canadian-based biotechnical company in a deal valued at US$850 million.
  • Advising Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. in the sale of its Newman-Madsen property to Laurentian Goldfields Ltd. for 6.5 million shares in Laurentian.
  • Advising Profire Energy, Inc. in acquiring the assets of VIM Injection Management, Inc. 
  • Advising Aura Minerals Inc. in obtaining a US$22.5 million gold loan from Auramet International LLC, a subsidiary of Auramet Trading LLC, the proceeds of which were used to settle outstanding debt obligations.
  • British Columbia counsel for a clean energy company in its US$240 million sale to a consortium of investors. 

News & Publications

News & Publications

Blog Posts

Speaking Engagements

Speaking Engagements

  • “The Role of Junior Mining in Today’s Market and Challenges Ahead”, Special Institute on International Mining and Oil & Gas Law, Development and Investment, Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation/ International Bar Association, Cartagena de Indias, Col, April 21, 2015, Speaker
Stuart Breen, Lawson Lundell Photo
Vancouver
t 604.631.9149
f 604.669.1620
* Law Corporation

Assistant Contact

Bar Admissions

  • British Columbia (2001)

Education

University of British Columbia, B.A. (1995)

University of British Columbia, LL.B. (2000)

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