JPM Jankovic Popovic Mitic has advised South East Asia Resources Limited, a publicly listed Australian mining company, in the process of raising additional funds to explore and develop future mining projects in Serbia.
According to JPM, "Serbiа’s mining deposits, especially lithium, have been generally seen as underutilized and the company has recognized Serbia as hosting potentially valuable mining deposits, embarking on a process to acquire Serbian projects prospective for lithium and borate, to certain extent encouraged by the presence of some of the world’s mining giants in Serbia."
JPM reported that it "conducted a thorough legal due diligence process of the projects," initially advising South East Asia Resources on the legal status of Centurion Metals, which will become a subsidiary via the acquisition process. "More important," the firm reports, "subsequent legal advisory work addressed various intricate legal aspects of Centurion’s exploration rights in Serbia, and led to JPM being the first known Serbian law firm to produce a legal report that was included in the company’s fund raising documentation lodged with regulatory authorities in Australia. As a result, JPM is presently advising a second Australian publicly listed company on the acquisition of Serbian mining projects."
The JPM mining team advising South East Asia Resources was led by Senior Partner Jelena Gazivoda, Senior Associate Bojana Javoric, and Australian-qualified Senior Associate Janko Nikolic, with Australian boutique law firm Bellanhouse — led by Partner Dave Filov — advised on Australian law matters and procedural aspects involving the Australian Stock Exchange and the Australian Securities and Investment Commission.
