Mayer, Brown & Platt was first retained by the bank group in connection with the financing of the Julietta gold mining project in 1996. Four years, two owners, several bank syndicates, multiple financing structures and many frequent flyer miles to Moscow later, the financing finally closed in September, 2000. This is a story of man against the elements, the titanic struggle to penetrate the inner workings of the Russian governmental bureaucracy and good old fashioned hard work.
The Julietta gold mining project is situated in one of the most inhospitable areas of the world. Located in the Magadan Oblast of Russia (in the far east of that country, almost as far as the Kamchatka Peninsula) the project is closer to Alaska than Moscow. The nearest evidence of civilisation is the city of Magadan, located many kilometres to the south of the project. The project is capable of access by road for only part of the year. During the extreme winter, climatic conditions mean that the project must
