LLM Alumnus Manuel Fumagalli of Gold Mining Firm Barrick South America Talks About His Position as Regional Counsel

Assistant Director Lucy Daberkow recently had the opportunity to meet with Manuel Fumagalli, one of the Environmental and Naturals Resources Law & Policy Graduate Program's most distinguished alumni, while he was attending a Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation conference in Boulder, Colorado.

Mr. Fumagalli, who is originally from Peru, is the Regional Counsel for Barrick South America. He was named "Outstanding LLM Student of the Year" at the Sturm College of Law in 2002.

He shared his thoughts with Ms. Daberkow about his role at Barrick:

"I started working for Barrick in 2003 developing the Alto Chicama Lagunas Norte project in Peru, and later after the South America regional business unit was created, I was appointed as Regional Counsel back in 2007. The South America region (SARBU) consists today of the Pierina and Lagunas Norte gold mines in Peru; the Veladero gold mine in Argentina; the Zaldívar copper mine in Chile; the Cerro Casale project in Chile; and the Pascua-Lama project straddling the Argentina-Chile border.

"My role as SARBU Regional Counsel requires me to provide legal advice and support to the senior management for the accomplishment of our regional business goals, participating in the definition of strategic regional priorities and corresponding action plans aligned with Corporate mandates and applicable regulations. Thus, I keep a close contact with the Office of the General Counsel, as well as with the operations and projects, travelling to the sites periodically and working along with the country legal managers and counsels as a team.

"‘Responsible Mining’ defines how we do business; we have a responsibility to protect the environment, to conduct our business in a safe way and based on the highest ethical standards, and to contribute to the welfare of the communities and countries in which we operate. Thus, I really enjoy my work.”

Ms. Daberkow said, "It was truly a pleasure to have the opportunity to visit with Manuel. His professional accomplishments as an LLM in Environmental and Natural Resources Law graduate are truly remarkable. Enhorabuena, Manuel!"

(Pictured above are from left to right, Emma Daberkow, Lucy Daberkow, Amelie Daberkow, Viviana Rodriguez, Manuel Fumagalli.)

Article by DU Law Professor Published in "Revista de Derecho Ambiental," a Leading South American Environmental Law Journal

Graduate program director Don C. Smith was recently published in the "Revista de Derecho Ambiental" (Journal of Environmental Law), a Buenos Aires-based publication that is distributed across the whole of South America and is read by the leading environmental law practitioners and academics across the continent.

His article was titled, “Políticas de energía y cambio climático de los Estados Unidos al inicio de la administración Obama: Legislación, regulación o ambas." (In English the title is, "Energy and Climate Change Policies in the United States at the beginning of the Obama Administration: Legislation, Regulation, or Both.") It can be found in issue 19 of the journal beginning on page 257.

In essence, the article explained the energy policies of President Obama and legislative and regulatory actions taken through the summer of 2009. He intends to write a follow up piece later this year explaining the events that have transpired since the publication of the first article. The invitation to write for the prestigious South American journal was extended by Prof. Néstor A. Cafferatta, a well-known and highly respected environmental law professor in Argentina who has also worked in the Argentine Environmental Ministry.

Producing the final version of the article involved a team effort of three graduate program actors. Prof. Smith wrote the article in English and Assistant Program Director Lucy Daberkow translated it into Spanish with the help of Noemí Nuñez, a 2009 LLM graduate.

The DU LLM graduate program has a long and rich history of attracting many of the brightest and most talented individuals from South America. Through this academic year, the graduate program has had students from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Perú, and Venezuela. Many of these students now hold high level positions in law firms and natural resources companies spanning the entire continent.

China's State Owned Energy Firm CNOOC Makes Move Into South America

CNOOC, a Chinese state-owned energy firm, has announced plans to acquire 50 percent of Bridas Energy Holdings for $3.1 billion. Bridas has holdings in Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile.

The deal is likely to foretell other similar deals by CNOOC in South America. On Sunday CNOOC president Yang Hua characterized the deal as representing a "good beachhead for us to enter Latin America," according to the Financial Times ("CNOOC to Pay $3.1 Billion for Argentine Stake," March 14, 2010).

In a statement, CNOOC said, "The transaction is aligned with the company's growth strategy by expanding the company's reach into Latin America and establishes a foundation for future growth in the region and other countries."

Proven reserves of CNOOC will increase by 318 million barrels of oil equivalent when the transaction is completed.