Biography: Mining

Jean-François Mercadier is managing partner of the Heenan Blaikie office in Paris and a member of the firm's business law group.

He was previously working in the Paris office of another large international firm where he was heading the corporate finance department and running the French sub-Saharan Africa practice.

Jean-François provides legal advice primarily in the following areas: mergers and acquisitions, privatisations and partnership agreements. He has been involved in many transactions and has represented large commercial and industrial groups as well as financial institutions and investment funds in France and Europe.

On many occasions, he has acted as lead counsel for international groups in connection with multi-jurisdictional transactions. His legal work led him to regularly represent large mining groups, including Dubai Aluminium Company (DUBAL), EMAL, BHP Billiton, Glencore, Katanga Mining Ltd or Ferrum Resources Ltd, with respect to their commercial and partnering activities on the African continent, particularly in Central and Western Africa (eg, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Mali).

Jean-François is recognised as a leader in corporate and commercial law in Chambers Global 2011: The World's Leading Lawyers for Business.

Heenan Blaikie is one of Canada's leading law firms. Heenan Blaikie's mining practice group offers formidable knowledge and extensive experience structuring and negotiating agreements and arrangements relating to mining projects in more than 60 countries.