France M. Tenaille Partner Leader, Latin America


Speaks:  English, Spanish

Year of Call: 2004 - Ontario

Year of Call: 1993 - Venezuela

Primary phone: +1 416-369-7398

Fax: +1 416-862-7661

Email: france.tenaille@gowlingwlg.com

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Primary office:  Toronto



France M. Tenaille

France Tenaille is a partner based in Gowling WLG's Toronto office. She is a member of the firm's Business Law, Energy, Infrastructure and Mining groups, and is leader of the firm's Latin America team.

With more than 28 years' experience (starting in Venezuela followed by more than 20 years in Canada), France is routinely recognized among the top lawyers in Mining and international transactions by the world's foremost legal rankings organizations. She focuses her practice on complex corporate, corporate finance, project finance and M&A transactions and commercial matters — with an emphasis on clients in the natural resources and energy sectors.

Over the course of her career, France has accrued extensive experience advising public and private issuers in connection with asset and share purchases and related party transactions, corporate reorganizations, public and private securities offerings and stock exchange listings, and particularly in mining, royalty and streaming financings — as well as matters related to corporate social responsibility and foreign anti-corruption legislation. She also has an extensive track record of helping companies navigate a range of corporate and commercial arrangements in various industries including joint venture, shareholder agreements and project agreements. In Mining, she has extensive experience with mining (earn-in) options, joint ventures, mine operating agreements, off-take agreements, royalties and strategic alliance agreements, layback agreements, among other.

As a result of her deep commitment to providing practical, solutions-oriented advice and outstanding client service, France is regularly distinguished in a number of prestigious legal directories. These include Chambers Global, Chambers Latin America, the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, Who's Who Legal- Mining, IFLR1000, Latinvex – Latin America's Top 100 Female Lawyers, and the International Who's Who of Mining Lawyers.

France is particularly regarded by clients for her nuanced understanding of Latin America's legal system, commercial landscape and culture. Before immigrating to Canada, she practised law for more than five years at a major firm in Caracas, Venezuela.

France is active in the legal community, and is regularly invited to speak at various Canadian and international forums. She is also a founding member and former vice-chair and secretary of the New York State Bar Association's Latin American Council, where she worked with other prominent lawyers in Central and South America to implement professional conduct regulations for the Latin American legal profession.

Career & Recognition

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Representative Work

  • Mineros S.A. - Canadian IPO and concurrent Colombian public offering, and listing on the TSX
  • Alto Verde Copper Inc. - acquisition of three exploration projects in Chile from Minera Freeport-McMoRan South America Limitada, a wholly owned subsidiary of Freeport-McMoRan Inc.
  • Aurania Resources Ltd. - overnight marketed public offering of units and concurrent non-brokered private placement of units for gross proceeds of approximately $9.2 million
  • Zijin Mining Group Co., Ltd - acquisition of Guyana Goldfields Inc. for $323 million
  • Mines and Metals Trading (Peru) PLC - business combination with Oro X Mining Corp., associated $14 million financing, and name change to Silver X Mining Corp
  • Mineros S.A. - acquisition by its wholly-owned subsidiary Hemco Nicaragua S.A. of a 50% interest in the Luna Roja Project in Nicaragua from Royal Road Minerals Limited for approximately US$24.5 million, a 1.25% net smelter return royalty on all future mineral production from the Monte Carmelo I and Monte Carmelo II mining concessions, and an agreement to incur over a period of five years not less than US$7.5 million in exploration expenditures
  • West Vault Mining Inc. - negotiation of a gold and silver purchase and sale agreement with Sprott Private Resource Streaming and Royalty Corp. for 1.41% of all refined gold and silver to be produced for the life of mine from the 100% owned and permitted Hasbrouck Gold Project in Nevada
  • Orla Mining Ltd. - negotiation and execution of a layback agreement with Fresnillo Plc for a total cash consideration of US62.8 million
  • Shareholders of RDH Mining Equipment - sale of the company to SMT Scharf AG for CDN$8 million
  • Salazar Resources Inc. - negotiation of a US$25 million mining option and shareholders agreement with Adventus Zinc Corporation on Salazar's Curipamba Project in Ecuador
  • Dinero Practico SAPI de CV, a Mexican company - $2 million investment in an Alberta oil & gas sector company and in Greenland Resources Ltd.
  • Candente Copper Corp. - negotiation of a mining option agreement for its tailings properties in Mexico
  • Ecuasolidus Inc. - activities, negotiations and applications for mining concessions in Ecuador
  • U308 Corp. - negotiation on an option and joint venture agreement with Petrominera Chubut, from the province of Chubut in Argentina
  • Denison Mines Corp. - $70 million reverse take-over of Fission Energy Corp., in connection with the transfer of the Peterson Lake mining assets
  • Silver Wheaton Corp. - purchase of life of mine silver production from Hudbay's 777 and Constancia Project for aggregate consideration of $750 million and subsequent $I35 million gold stream transaction with respect to its Constancia Project
  • Goldcorp - $513 million purchase of a 70% interest in El Morro Mine (Chile); $505 million divestiture of the Escobal Project (Guatemala) to Tahoe Resources Inc. and divestiture of San Dimas Mine (Mexico) to Primero Mining Inc., and several commercial and corporate matters in Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Argentina and Chile
  • Yamana Gold Inc. - $200 million sale of its Sao Francisco and Sao Vicente Mines in Brazil and its San Andres Mine in Honduras, and other acquisitions and divestitures of mining projects in Mexico, Nicaragua, Colombia, Chile and Papua New Guinea, including mining option and joint venture transactions
  • Kinross Gold Corporation and Dundee Precious Metals Inc., in the acquisition, divestiture and joint ventures of mining projects in Canada, the United States and Serbia.