LG and Clifford Chance (CC) have advised on the $120m (£95m) sale of mining company GPM Georgia, as M&A activity in the sector continues to provide rich pickings for law firms.

LG acted for the buyers, Mining Developments Georgia and Mineral Resources Management, on the acquisition of GPM, a holding company with gold, silver and copper mining assets in Georgia. The firm's team was led by corporate partners David Ponsford and Tom Nicholls.

Meanwhile, CC advised the seller, GeoProMining, fielding a team headed by Moscow corporate partner Nicholas Rees. The company, which has bases in Cyprus and Moscow, was set up in 2001 and acquired the Madneuli and Quartzite mines in 2005.

The transaction has seen GeoProMining dispose of its copper-gold mining company Madneuli and gold mining business Quartzite to the Georgian entity.

Ponsford said: "We're currently seeing an increase in the turnover of mining licences, both in relation to expiration and extradition in the industry that surrounds it.

"We are seeing new players coming into the market and also increasing consolidation as the prices of natural resources and new commodities continues to grow."

The mandate comes amid a spate of M&A activity in the mining sector over the past year. In November CC advised Mitsubishi on its purchase of a 24.5% stake in Anglo American's Chilean copper business for $5.4bn (£3.4bn), while Berwin Leighton Paisner and Slaughter and May both this year advised on the $1bn (£632m) sale of a 24% stake in Indonesian mining company Bumi.