About A.H. MacSkimming Law Office
Mining Law
Andrew is a mining lawyer practicing mining law in Canada. Andrew routinely drafts option, purchase and Net Smelter Returns (NSR) royalty agreements. He handles a wide range of transactional and regulatory matters, government relations, First Nations matters and dispute resolution, for the exploration, mining and mineral processing sectors.
Andrew has been the lead lawyer for numerous projects involving critical and strategic minerals and critical and strategic mineral supply chains. Andrew is active for companies with projects in Northern Ontario, Saskatchewan, the Northwest Territories, Manitoba and other parts of Canada. Andrew has worked on projects and royalty agreements involving nearly all mineral commodity types including gold, uranium, copper, nickel, lithium, silica sand and much more. Andrew is both a Manitoba mining lawyer and an Ontario mining lawyer licenced in both provinces.
Andrew has almost 20 years' post-Call experience (LSO July 2005). In addition to his private sector experience, he has worked as a senior political advisor for federal cabinet ministers, in provincial public appointments, in the federal public service, as an energy and climate change consultant and as a defense contractor. Andrew sees files from the perspective of more than a lawyer. He is ideal for major projects and projects that involve the public-private interface and complex problems with both legal and non-legal aspects.
Andrew’s clients are exploration companies, operating miners, large private equity interests, publicly traded and private companies at all stages, First Nations mining proponents, shareholders and subsurface optionors. As part of a team, Andrew has played a key role in a financing for an operating miner worth over $200M U.S., a successful proxy contest leading to a change in board and executive management composition for a publicly-traded mining company, the permitting of an exploration project in a provincial park and numerous transactions in the tens and hundreds of millions of dollars.
For projects requiring a team, Andrew works sometimes as part of Canadian Mining Advisors or whatever larger team drawn from his extensive network may be required.
Andrew holds Certificates in P3s and Mining Law from Osgoode Hall Professional Development and an LL.M. in Environmental Law from Vermont Law School (2004). Andrew graduated with degrees in the civil and common law from McGill (B.C.L. & LL.B. 2002), a top 20 global university. The Province of Manitoba named Andrew their Vice Chair for the Expert Advisory Council on the Province’s climate and green plan (2018-2023), which includes work on ZEVs. The Province of Manitoba also appointed Andrew to the provincial Manitoba Liaison Committee on Mining and Exploration (MLCME) (2019-2022) and Andrew participated in a multi-sector Battery Metals Roundtable for the Government of Ontario.
Andrew has been married for over 20 years and enjoys spending time with his family, hiking, paddling, camping, cross-country skiing and lifting weights when he is not practicing law.
Select Publications
Canadian Provinces Advance Critical Minerals Plans: December 2021 Update
Canadian Provinces Advance Critical Minerals Plans: December 2021 Update
Canadian Provinces Advance Critical Minerals Plans: December 2021 Update
An update to “Canadian Provinces Advance Critical Minerals Plans,” which was published in the July 2, 2021, edition of the Natural Resources Law Network and described critical mineral plans and activities in Saskatchewan, Ontario and Québec. This update published in December 2021 covers recent critical mineral legal and policy developments for Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario. Published by the Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law or FNREL (formerly the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation or RMMLF)'s online Natural Resources Law Network newsletter.
Canadian Provinces Advance Critical Minerals Plans
Canadian Provinces Advance Critical Minerals Plans: December 2021 Update
Canadian Provinces Advance Critical Minerals Plans: December 2021 Update
A short article published July 2, 2021, on approaches to critical minerals by Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan published in the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation's online Natural Resources Law Network (the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation or RMMLF is now the Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law or FNREL).
How Not to Do an Option Agreement
Canadian Provinces Advance Critical Minerals Plans: December 2021 Update
Takeover of Canadian Mining Company Raises National Security Concerns
Some general tips on pitfalls to avoid with an option agreement in the minerals sector gleaned in part from a review of a British Columbia Court of Appeal decision, published on LinkedIn by Manitoba mining lawyer Andrew H. MacSkimming
Takeover of Canadian Mining Company Raises National Security Concerns
Ontario Court of Appeal Limits Impacts of Vesting Orders on Royalty Holders
Takeover of Canadian Mining Company Raises National Security Concerns
An exploration of the link between federal investment review law and the mining sector published on LinkedIn (update: acquisition was vetoed)
Ontario Court of Appeal Limits Impacts of Vesting Orders on Royalty Holders
Ontario Court of Appeal Limits Impacts of Vesting Orders on Royalty Holders
Ontario Court of Appeal Limits Impacts of Vesting Orders on Royalty Holders
Ontario Court of Appeal case brief published on LinkedIn by Ontario mining lawyer Andrew H. MacSkimming.
Environmental Securities Disclosure
Ontario Court of Appeal Limits Impacts of Vesting Orders on Royalty Holders
Ontario Court of Appeal Limits Impacts of Vesting Orders on Royalty Holders
This co-authored 2002 paper for the former NAFTA side-agreement secretariat on environmental securities disclosure, the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation, is still widely cited
Expert Advisory Council Transportation Subcommittee Recommendations
Expert Advisory Council Transportation Subcommittee Recommendations
Expert Advisory Council Transportation Subcommittee Recommendations
Andrew contributed to the recommendations of the Transportation Subcommittee of the Manitoba Expert Advisory Council on the Province's climate and green plan, which included a 100% mandate for new vehicle sales to be zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) by 2035, a shift that highlights the importance of critical minerals supply chains