Cynthia Urda Kassis is Head of the Mining & Metals practice and is a partner in the Project Development & Finance practice.

She focuses on project finance, joint venture transactions and restructuring in the mining, energy and infrastructure industries.

Cynthia’s clients include major financial institutions, corporations, government agencies, and numerous regional development banks and export credit agencies.

Mining & Metals

• Nevada Copper on the financing package for their Pumpkin Hollow underground copper mining project, which consists of a project financing from KfW IPEX-Bank, supported by a UFK guarantee, an advanced payment agreement from Concord Resources, stream and royalty financings with Triple Flag, a cost overrun facility and offtake agreements with Aurubis and Concord Resources
• Orion Resource Partners and The Blackstone Group, as lenders and investors, in the debt and equity financing of approximately $400 to $450 million of the Fruta del Norte gold and silver mining project in Ecuador
• Mantos Copper in connection with the renegotiation with Osisko of the stream which partially financed the acquisition by the Orion Resources/Audley consortium from Anglo American of the Mantoverde and Mantos Blancos mines in anticipation of the advancement of the proposed Mantoverde Development Project and Mantos Blancos Concentrator De-Bottlenecking Project and is currently representing Mantos Copper in connection with the proposed development and financing of such projects
• Romarco Minerals Inc. and its subsidiary, Haile Gold Mine, Inc., in connection with the development and $200 million senior secured project finance credit facility for its Haile Gold Mine project in South Carolina
• Pueblo Viejo Dominicana Corporation, a joint venture between Barrick Gold Corporation and Goldcorp Inc., in the $1.035 billion project financing for the development of its gold/copper resource in the Dominican Republic (selected as “Americas Mining Deal of the Year” (2010) by Project Finance International and “Best Project Finance” (2010) by Latin Lawyer)
• Essar Global Limited as sponsor and its subsidiary, Essar Steel Minnesota LLC, as project company in the financing of their $1.7 billion fully-integrated iron ore extraction to pellet processing facility in Minnesota, which includes an open pit mine and a 7 mtpa pellet manufacturing plant
• White Oak Resources LLC and certain affiliates thereof in connection with an investment by Alliance Resources Partners, L.P. to support the development of a longwall coal mining operation in Illinois
• Formation Metals Inc. in connection with the project financing for the Idaho Cobalt project
• The global export credit agencies, government lenders/insurers and commercial banks- including all four Korean governmental lenders (KExIm, KoFC, KDB and K-Sure), EDC of Canada, KfW of Germany and six international commercial banks in the proposed project financing for the $1.9 billion Rosemont copper project in Arizona, sponsored by Augusta Resources, KORES and LG
• The lenders in the refinancing of the vendor note which bridge financed the acquisition of a coal mine in Nevada by the Navajo Transitional Energy Company, LLC from BHP Billiton

Energy & Petrochemicals

• Transmisora Eléctrica del Norte S.A. (TEN) with financing the construction of its transmission line connecting the two major electrical grids in Chile, involving an innovative and complex dual-currency (USD and CLP) multi-tranche financing
• Lenders on multiple aspects of the proposed $7.33 billion Gasoducto Sur Perúano project, a more than 1,000 km gas pipeline in Peru. This was one of the largest infrastructure projects to come to market in the history of Peru’s energy sector
• Lenders with the $1 billion senior unsecured revolving credit facility to Braskem America, Inc. and Braskem Netherlands B.V., as borrowers and Braskem S.A., as guarantor
• BNDES, the National Development Bank of Brazil, with the project financing for the proposed $3.2 billion financing of the initial nine of a portfolio of 24 deepwater drilling units of Sete Brasil Participações chartered by Petrobras
• $1.6 billion Chaglla hydroelectric power generation project in Peru with an installed capacity of approximately 406 MW. (Infrastructure Journal “Power Deal of the Year;” Latin Lawyer “Project Finance Deal of the Year;” PFI “Latin America Renewables Deal of the Year”)
• Raizen Energia S.A., Brazil’s largest ethanol company and third largest energy company, and its affiliates, in connection with multiple financings, including their $450 million inaugural financing, a $600 million financing and most recently $735 million financing, each arranged by a syndicate of international commercial banks
• Sasol Limited and its affiliates in connection with the entry by Sasol Chemicals North America LLC into a 50/50 joint venture with INEOS Olefins & Polymers USA to construct, finance, own and operate a high-density polyethylene plant in LaPorte, Texas and in connection with the project financing of such plant in the Term B market through a $420 million facility
• The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd., New York Branch as mandated lead arranger in connection with the financing of two energy projects of InterGen in Mexico, the 205 MW San Luis de la Paz natural gas-fired power project in Guanajuato and the Altamira gas compression project in Tamaulipas
• Abengoa México, Abener Energía, and GE Capital Corporation as sponsors, in connection with a 300 MW gas-fired cogeneration plant at the new refinery of Mexican state-owned petroleum company Pemex in Tabasco, Mexico (selected as “Latin America Power Deal of the Year” (2010) by Project Finance)
• Ecopetrol S.A., as borrower, in connection with senior unsecured credit facilities in a principal amount of $665 million with The Bank of Nova Scotia and Mizuho Bank , $300 million with Export Development Canada; and $175 million with MUFG
• Enersur S.A., a subsidiary of GDF Suez, as borrower, in connection with multiple financings, including a $100 million term loan financing and a $100 million uncommitted revolving credit facility, each arranged by a syndicate of international commercial banks
• The AES Corporation in the reprofiling and restructuring of debt of over $2.7 billion of its power distribution assets in Brazil: Eletropaulo and Sul

Infrastructure

• Private placement noteholders and designated lenders’ counsel in connection with the financing of the $2.8 billion acquisition of Skyway Concession Company, which operates, manages and maintains the Chicago Skyway toll road under a 99-year lease pursuant to a public-private partnership (P3) with the City of Chicago, which owns the Skyway; the consortium, comprising Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, was the winning bidder in the sale by the prior holders of the Skyway lease in November 2015
• The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) on the extension of an approximately $875 million secured loan to fund construction costs for the $2.3 billion Purple Line Light Rail Project in Maryland, which is being implemented by a consortiumThe United States Department of Transportation (DOT) on the $526 million financing of the construction of the Moynihan Station Project in New York City. The project will help transform the James A. Farley Post Office Building to a modern, state-of-the-art train station and will deliver critical improvements and expansions that will ease congestion and delays in Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor rail service
• The US Department of Transportation (DOT) on the restructuring of the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (“TIFIA”) loan made to SH130 Concession Company LLC (“SH130”), and the bankruptcy proceedings of SH130 and other debtors related to the Texas State Highway 130 project
• The United States Department of Transportation (DOT), acting through the Federal Highway Administration, in connection with the extension of a Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan for the I-77 HOT Lanes Project in North Carolina
• The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) in connection with the extension of Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loans for the US 36 Managed Lanes/Bus Rapid Transit Project in Colorado
• Export Development Canada (EDC) in connection with its $140 million financing, of an approximately $300 million co-financing with the Export-Import Bank of the United States and Israel Aerospace Industries Limited (as a vendor finance provider) for SpaceCom’s AMOS-6 satellite program
• Eutelsat S.A. in connection with an Export-Import Bank of the United States financing of Eutelsat’s interest in a 25B satellite being constructed by Loral and to be located at the 25.5 degree East orbital location
• Panama Canal Authority with respect to the financing aspects of its $5.2 billion expansion program that will create a third lane for transiting vessels, substantially increasing Canal capacity and allowing for the passage of larger ships (selected as “Project Finance Deal of the Year” (2009) by Latin Finance and “Project Finance Deal of the Year” (2008) by IFLR Americas)
• The mandated lead arrangers, of a $1.4 billion equivalent multi-currency, limited-recourse acquisition and working capital financing of the container terminal assets of a joint venture between Macquarie managed funds and Hanjin Shipping in the United States, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea
• Mubadala Development Company PJSC and Trafigura Beheer B.V. in connection with a pre-export financing related to the MMX Porto Sudeste iron ore port terminal restructuring
• Wilson Sons in connection with an Export Import Bank of China (China Ex-Im) financing for a major equipment kit for the expansion of its Rio Grande container terminal in Brazil, the first China Ex-Im financing in South America

Awards & Accolades

• Recipient of the Who’s Who Legal 2019 Project Finance Award
• Ranked Band 1 for Projects and Latin American Investment by Chambers USA (2018); Band 1 Latin America-wide for Projects and Energy and Natural Resources, and Band 2 Latin America-wide for Banking & Finance by Chambers Latin America (2018); noted for foreign expertise in Banking and Finance, Energy and Natural Resources, and Projects in Latin America by Chambers Global (2018)
• Listed as “Highly Regarded” by IFLR 1000 (2019, 2020)
• Named a Leading Lawyer for Project Finance by The Legal 500 US (2018) and for Projects and Energy and Banking and Finance by The Legal 500 Latin America (2018)
• Clients tell Chambers & Partners “[Cynthia]’s an excellent lawyer with a good understanding of business,” “excellent in terms of attention to the client and responsiveness,” that she has “highly detailed background knowledge of the industry, as well as commercial expertise,” and is “phenomenally talented.”