Bruce leads our national Energy & Resources group, and has 30 years' experience in the resources sector.
He is widely regarded by clients and peers as one of the best energy and resources lawyers in Australia, and is widely known for his expertise in mining sector M&A and project development.
Bruce has been involved in negotiating and documenting new resources and infrastructure joint ventures, the sale and purchase of major mining, transport, energy and industrial assets, the development of new projects, and the negotiation and documentation of high value procurement and supply contracts.
Bruce is ranked as a leading Energy & Resources lawyer in all of the major legal guides – Chambers Global, Chambers Asia-Pacific, Asia Pacific Legal 500 and Doyles – and he is the Mining Law ‘Lawyer of the Year’ for Brisbane for 2023.
According to APL 500, ‘Bruce Adkins has a great all-around combination of industry knowledge, M&A prowess, commerciality and technical discipline, which makes him unique in the E&R market. His commitment and responsiveness to client demands are also exceptional.’
The Chambers guides (2023) say that ‘His service levels, experience, commerciality and user-friendliness are outstanding.’
Clients have also stated that Bruce is ‘very smart, very commercial’ and is ‘one of the best’ and ‘a great lateral thinker’.
Bruce was a finalist for:
Advised Magnetic Rail Group and its shareholders (M Infrastructure and ABL) on the $1 billion acquisition of the OneRail East Coast Rail business from Aurizon.
Advised European commodity trader and investor Coeclerici on its strategic investment in Vecco Group which is developing the Debella vanadium project and related processing facilities in Queensland.
Advised a confidential bidder on its unsuccessful bid to acquire BHP’s 100% interest in the Mt Arthur coal mine and Wards Well coal project, 80% interest in the Poitrel and South walker Creek coal mines, and 33.3% interest in the Cerrejon coal mine.
Advised a confidential bidder on its unsuccessful bid to acquire the Ensham coal mine.
Advised BCB on its acquisition of the Burton coal mine and Lenton coal project from New Hope.
Advised BCB on its acquisition of the Bluff coal mine from the Controller of Carabella Resources, and on its coal tolling agreement with QCoal.
Advised in relation to its farm-in and joint venture with Sumitomo in connection with the Hillalong coal project.
Advised in relation to the A$320 million acquisition of the Mt Pleasant Coal Project from Rio Tinto, and the $500 million development of the new Mt Pleasant coal mine.
Advised in relation to the acquisition of the Western Surat Gas Project from QGC, CNOOC and Tokyo Gas.
Advised Nash Gold Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Lukin Resources, on the acquisition of interests in the Ebagoola gold project from Aurum Pacific / Australian Metals Corporation Pty Ltd.
Part of the team which advised Gold Road on its A$350 million sale of a 50% interest in the Gruyere gold project to Gold Fields and the establishment of the new joint venture.
Australian counsel for Centerra in relation to its C$310 million acquisition of TSX listed AuRico Metals Inc.
Part of the team which advised Canadian gold miner New Gold on the C$58 million sale of their Peaks mine to Aurelia Metals.
There is one simple yet inescapable fact that is not yet widely understood – that renewable energy alone is not going to get us to net zero.
BHP and Mitsubishi selling their Daunia and Blackwater coal mines in central Queensland to Whitehaven for a higher than expected price of US$4.1 billion (including deferred and contingent payments)...
In November 2022, the Queensland Land Court (QLC) recommended that Waratah Coal’s application for a mining lease and an environmental authority in relation to the proposed Galilee Basin thermal...