Sanusha Govender is the Founding Partner of Spencer West South Africa. She has over 18 years of legal experience and has practiced at some of the leading law firms in South Africa. She focuses on Corporate, General Commercial, Mining Regulatory, Notarial and Conveyancing matters.
Understanding that clients expect business-orientated solutions to legal issues, Sanusha always aims to provide practical legal advice, the highest level of service and quick turnaround times.
As a Corporate/Commercial Attorney, she assists clients with the drafting, vetting and negotiation of commercial contracts, shareholders agreements, Memorandums of Incorporation, and advises on sale or purchase of businesses, assets and companies.
Her in-depth knowledge of the mining industry and thorough understandng of regulatory processes enables her to provide a comprehensive service offering to companies operating in this sector both locally and internationally. Sanusha assists clients with applications in terms of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, the acquisition and disposal of mining companies or assets, mining title opinion, due diligence investigations, liaising with the DMRE, as well as notarial execution and registration of prospecting and mining rights.
In property-related and conveyancing matters, she acts for clients in the transfer and registration of immovable property, registration of servitudes, sectional title and property developments, as well as drafting of sale agreements.
Her notarial practice focuses on antenuptial contracts, cohabitation agreements, notarial authentication or collation of documents for use outside of South Africa, apostillies, and drafting and registration of notarial bonds.
In addition she provides ad hoc general legal advice to companies. She also acts for clients in high-level litigation – mainly urgent Interdicts, Anton Pillar applications and facilitates arbitrations.
Sanusha has advised international clients in complex multi-jurisdictional, cross-border transactions in Africa and Europe.
RECENT EXPERIENCE
- Advising a bidder on draft agreements in respect of the acquisition of a coal mine.
- Advising various mining companies on the acquisition of prospecting rights/mining rights or shares in the company that holds such rights.
- Advising on the acquisition of various gypsum mines as a sale of business.
- Advising a well-known mining company listed on the JSE in an asset for share transaction.
- Advising on share exchange transactions.
- Advising, negotiating, drafting and vetting of transactional agreements for both local and international clients, which either involved the purchase of shares in a company or the incorporation of a SPV and the transfer of a mining/prospecting right into the SPV.
- Advising on various acquisition of mining/prospecting rights in the coal and chrome sector.
- Advising, negotiating and drafting of coal supply and offtake agreements as well as drafting opinions and providing advice when a coal supplier is in breach.
- Representing a client to defend an AFSA arbitration with a claim of US$5m relating to a cross-border merger and acquisition involving approvals from the South African Reserve Bank.
- Assisting a mining company and its related companies to commence with business rescue proceedings, restructuring the business, implement a business rescue plan, and successfully terminate their respective business rescue proceedings.
- Advising on regulatory aspects relating to a debt restructure as local counsel to an international law firm.
- Advising an international commodity company on a pre-payment facility repayable via manganese ore offtake from various mining operations.
- Advising and drafting of agreements for the acquisition of exclusive prospecting licenses in Namibia.
- Involved in negotiations of a complex transaction on behalf of a well-known international group that was selling one of its Nigerian subsidiaries. Part of the business was sold as a sale of business and the remainder, together with the shares of the company, was sold simultaneously to a third party.
- Advising on management buy-out of a well-known insurance company (a subsidiary of a UK company), involving a mixture of SA and UK law.
- Acting for clients in Zambia, Namibia, Zimbabwe, DRC, Nigeria, and the UK.
- Advising on and drafting of section 11 applications, which involved either the transfer of a controlling interest in a company or the transfer of a mining/prospecting right to a new legal entity.
- Advising and drafting of section 102 applications.
- Advising and successfully objecting to an appeal lodged against the decision of the DMRE to grant our client a prospecting right.
- Assisting various clients with obtaining dates for execution of rights and attending to the notarial execution of rights and registrations at MPTRO.
- Liaising with DMRE on behalf of clients in respect of appeals, granting of rights, executions, response to section 93 notices, etc.
- Advising on restructure to comply with black ownership requirements.
- Liaising with communities and the creation of trusts to further Mining Charter requirements.
- Advising and assisting clients with prospecting right and/or mining right applications and submission to the DMRE.
- Assisting clients with resolving issues raised by the Minerals and Petroleum Titles Registration Office to have mining/prospecting rights registered.
