Profile
Carmen Diges is a Partner in the Business Law Group of Miller Thomson LLP in Toronto, and the National Leader of the firm's Mining Group. Her contacts and clients range from government to issuers, financiers, geologists, engineers, professionals and traders. Her practice is focused on international natural resource transactions and includes venture issues, corporate finance (both equity and debt), mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, options, project finance and construction matters. She advises Canadian and international clients I connection with local permitting and ongoing international business issues for resource issuers operating in various countries, particularly throughout South America and West Africa. In Canada, she is in demand for her strategic advice in connection with proxy contests, hostile take-overs and special committee work. She has also served as an expert in connection with a leave application to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Fluent in English, French and Spanish, Carmen also has considerable experience in Africa and South America, where she has assisted clients in structuring and implementing acquisitions and projects, and working with emerging market governments. Carmen has acted for public and private companies at all stages of development, and has advised agents and underwriters, as well as venture capitalists and merchant bankers.
Speaking and presenting extensively in Canada and abroad, Carmen has also built up a significant international profile for her expertise in the mining and natural resources area. She is one of the few lawyers from Canada listed in that practice area in The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers for numerous years running. As well, she has a BV rating in Martindale Hubbell and is well-known in South America for her work on capital market expansion and advice to governments and non-governmental actors to promote international collaboration in the resource and related sectors.
Education
- LLM (Tax), Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, 1998
- LL.B., Dalhousie University, 1993
- BA (International Relations/Philosophy), University of Toronto, 1990
- CFA Charterholder, CFA Institute, 2005
Professional Achievements
- Recognized in The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers, 2013
- Chambers Global 2013 ranked lawyer, Energy & Natural Resources: Mining
- Best Lawyers in Canada, 2013
- Who's Who Legal: Canada 2012
- Recipient of Lexpert Rising Stars 2009 Award
- Listed in Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2008-2012, Mining
- Holds a "BV Distinguished" Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell
Directorships
- 2012 - present - Director, Continental Precious Minerals Inc.
- 2010 – present – Assistant Treasurer, Mining Committee, International Bar Association
- 2003 – present – Corporate Secretary of several public companies
- 2002 – present – Mentor and Committee Member, Women in Capital Markets
- 2002 – 2007 – Manager, Spinning® Program, Sports Clubs of Canada, Plaza Club - responsible for all aspects of development and function of the Spinning® Program
- 2001 – present – Director, Rider Training Institute Inc. – not-for-profit education and training arm of the Motorcycle and Moped industry council focussed on motorcycle safety and education
- 1994 – 2003 – Director, Three Trilliums board of directors – non-profit organization assisting physically challenged persons wishing to live independently; member, Board Development committee
- 1994 – 1997 – Director and Corporate Secretary Canadian Environmental Defense Fund Inc. – performed secretarial and corporate tasks, including assistance with constitutional and structural reform of organization; member of Nomination and Board Development, and Management committees
- 1988 – 1990 – Director, SOMEA Ltd. Board of Directors/Secretary-General SOMA – non-profit organization and United Nations affiliate
Memberships
- ACE
- AFAA
- Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy
- Canadian Women in Private Equity
- Canfit Pro
- CFA Institute
- International Bar Association
- Law Society of Upper Canada, Toronto
- Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC)
- Toronto CFA Society
- Women in Capital Markets
- Women in Mining
Media Coverage
- Business News Network (BNN), 5:40 p.m., March 6, 2013
- Reuters, Mineral Explorers Brace for Shakeout as Capital Vanishes, March 6, 2013
- Business News Network (BNN), Market Call Newsletter, March 5, 2013
- Globe and Mail, Page B6, Stepping into the Proxy Battles Over Boards, December 20, 2012
Presentations
-
Foreign Mineral tenure Systems of Interest: South America, The Osgoode Mining Law Certificate Program - February 2013
- Finance Structures for International Joint Ventures, 5th International Joint Ventures Course - December 2012
- More than Six Feet Under: Projects in Latin America: Opportunities and Challenges, American Bar Association Fall Meeting / Miami, FL - October 2012
- Negotiating Issues for Mining Agreements, Federated Press, Mini-MBA for Mining Course, 2012
- Model for a Modern major General: Key Considerations for LOIs and Option Agreements in Exploration Deals, Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation - July 2012
- Canada Mining Update, 2012
- Canadian Capital Market Opportunities for Danish Mining Companies, 2012
- The IFC Performance Standards Review: A Preview of the Changes, 2011
- Finance Structures for International Joint Ventures, 4th International Joint Ventures Course - December 2011
- Finance Structures for International Joint Ventures; Source, Contribution & Valuation, Federated Press, 3rd International Joint Ventures, 2010
- Designing Pre-transaction Agreements to create Long-lasting Business Relationships, Engaging and Negotiating with Aboriginal Communities, 2010
- Mining 101 - Your First Joint Venture, 2010
- Down the Rabbit Hole: AliceCo’s Adventures in Mergerland, 2010
- International Joint Ventures - Finance Structures for International Joint Ventures: Source, Contributions & Valuation, 2009
- New Trends For Financing Mining Projects, International Bar Association Conference, 2009
- Balancing Industry and Aboriginal Interests in Accommodation: Who Bears the Cost?, Aboriginal Law, Consultation & Accommodation, 2009
- Sticks and Bones; Is Your IBA Working? Amending and Enforcing Impact Benefit Agreements, Canadian Institute, 2008
- Mining: Recent Developments of Importance, 2007
- Argentinean Uranium Exploration and Production Part of an International Nuclear Industry, Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, 2007Globe and Mail, Page B6, Stepping into the Proxy Battles Over Boards, December 20, 2012
Publications
- What is the Duty to Consult, Anyway, and Why is it Important?, Aboriginal Law Bulletin, 2012
- Model for a "Modern Major General": Key Negotiating Considerations and Legal Implications for Letters of Intent and Option Agreements in Exploration Deals, 2012
- New Trends For Financing Mining Projects in Light of the Global Financial Crisis - Canadian Perspective, 2009
- Mining For an Ideal: Bilateral Financing Structures In a North-South American Context — Paradigms and Practice, Lexpert, 2008
- El Uranio Argentino es Muy Atractivo, Mining Press, 2007
- Mining in Canada: Living in the Strike Zone, 2006
- Times They Are a Changin', 2002
Industry Expertise
Key Practice Expertise
Areas of Focus
- International Transactions
- Special Committee Advice
- Venture Capital