Profile: Peter Leon

Mining

Biography: Mining

Peter Leon is a partner with Webber Wentzel Bowens and heads the firm's regulatory law practice. He practises in natural resources law, black economic empowerment (BEE), financial services and international law. Recent matters include advising Italian investors in the South African mining industry on a bilateral investment treaty claim against the South African government, counselling on a project to extend the life of PetroSA's gas-to-liquid plant in Mossel Bay, as well as advising the Nigerian government on its new mining code. Mr Leon advised Nevsun Resources Limited on the Bisha Mining Project in Eritrea. He has also advised multinational mining groups on the legal implications of the South African Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 2002, as well as the draft Mineral and Petroleum Resources Bill 2003 to 2007.

Mr Leon is South African regulatory counsel to MasterCard International, which he has represented at the Jali inquiry into the South African banking industry (2006 to 2008). Peter Leon has also advised the South African Chamber of Mines, the Banking Association and the American Chamber of Commerce on the draft BEE codes of good practice.

Mr Leon received his BA LLB, summa cum laude, from the University of Cape Town and his LLM with first class honours from Cambridge University, where he was senior scholar of Christ's College.

Mr Leon is a member of the council of the University of Cape Town, was chair of the ministerial advisory committee on local government transformation from 2000 to 2002 and, prior to that, was leader of the official opposition in Gauteng province.