Travers Smith and Clifford Chance (CC) have taken lead roles on the $90m (£57m) financing of London Mining's Marampa mine in Sierra Leone.

Travers advised London Mining with a team led by corporate finance head Spencer Summerfield and corporate partner Adrian West, while CC advised the underwriters, JP Morgan Cazenove and Liberum Capital, led by London capital markets partner Iain Hunter.

The financing comes as part of London Mining's long-term strategy to dramatically increase production by 2014.

Summerfield said: "London Mining is a long-term client of the firm and we were really pleased to get on this deal. A lot of firms are trying to position themselves at the moment to take advantage of all the activity in the mining sector and resources market more generally. Africa is also increasingly becoming a hotspot for activity, as companies look to invest more of their resources in both the east and west of the continent, and the use of English law in the region is growing."

The financing will allow London Mining to start development before the wet season in Sierra Leone and take advantage of the higher prices for iron ore expected over the next three years.

CC has taken key roles on a number of other recent mining-related deals, including advising Japan's Mitsubishi on its $5.4bn (£3.4bn) acquisition of a share in mining giant Anglo American's Chilean copper business, as well as acting for the banks on Russian gold and silver mining company Polymetal's $500m (£317m) initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange.