Valuation of copper-gold mining project

Dr. Dorobantu led a Brattle team supporting academic advisor Professor Graham Davis in Tethyan Copper Company v. Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Tethyan, a joint venture of Barrick Gold and Antofagasta, brought a claim against the Pakistani government for denial of a mining license for the Reko Diq copper/gold deposit, one of the world’s largest. The Brattle team worked with Professor Davis to implement the “modern DCF” valuation, also known as a real-options approach, which is particularly well-suited to valuing long-lived extractive sector assets. In a 600-page decision that adopted the modern DCF method, the Tribunal awarded Tethyan $5.9 billion in compensation. This is one of the largest ICSID awards on record and the largest investment arbitration award in the mining industry.