Top 10 Private Equity Investors in Mining Industry in the World in 2021 by Deal Volume

Alumina Partners (Ontario) Ltd., Apollo Global Management Inc, Sprott Inc., ACE & Company SA, and Allegro Funds Pty Ltd are among the top 5 private equity investors in the mining industry in 2021 by deal volume. In terms of the geographic split, 5 out of the world’s top 10 private equity investors in the mining industry are headquartered in North America, while 3 are based in Europe, and the remaining 2 are based in Oceania and Asia. They employed a total of 2,440 people in 2021. The Alumina Partners-Namibia Critical deal was one of the major deals in the mining sector in 2021. Namibia Critical Metals Inc. has completed a second draw-down of $100,000 pursuant to a draw-down equity financing facility with Alumina Partners (Ontario) Ltd., an affiliate of New York-based private equity firm Alumina Partners, LLC. Pursuant to the second draw-down, the Company issued 451,977 units (“Units”) at a price of $0.22125 per unit for gross proceeds of $100,000. Each Warrant in this second tranche is exercisable into one additional common share at a price of $0.413. The deal was completed in Q1 2021. The Suzhou CATH Energy-AVZ International deal was another major deal in the mining sector in 2021. DLA Piper served as legal advisor to AVZ International. Suzhou CATH Energy Technologies, a private investment entity, has entered into a transaction implementation agreement to acquire a 24% stake in the Manono Lithium and Tin Project from AVZ International Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of AVZ Minerals Limited, for consideration of $240 million in cash. Under the agreement, private equity firm Suzhou CATH Energy Technologies would get a 24% stake in the joint venture to develop the Manono lithium and tin project in southern DRC in exchange for the funding. AVZ's interest in the project would drop to 51% from 75%, while DRC-owned firm Cominiere would retain its 25% stake. The deal was completed in Q4 2021.