Ivanhoe Australia CEO: Expects Funding For Projects In Place By Mid-Year
April 19 2012 - 1:17AM
Dow Jones News
Ivanhoe Australia Ltd. (IVA.AU) expects to have in place by the
middle of the year funding for the development of a basket of
base-metals projects in northwestern Queensland, Chief Executive
Officer Peter Reeve said Thursday.
The company in January engaged UBS Investment Bank to help it
evaluate proposals from potential strategic partners for its
Cloncurry portfolio. Offers are now at the indicative stage, Reeve
said in a telephone interview. Final bids are due May, he
added.
Ivanhoe Australia spoke with unnamed parties before it appointed
UBS to seek a partner that could add technical and balance-sheet
support through a minority investment in the projects.
Reeve said the company is seeking to sell stakes of between 15%
and 25% in one or all of the projects in the Cloncurry
portfolio.
Ivanhoe Australia is 59% owned by Ivanhoe Mines, which in turn
is 51% owned by Rio.
Reeve added the company has recently had "good conversations"
with Ivanhoe Mines' board and believes Rio appreciates Ivanhoe
Australia's strategy.
"We've always said that Ivanhoe Mines is big enough to look
after itself. We have to assiduously look after the minorities,"
Reeve said.
Andrew Harding, the head of Rio's copper division, earlier this
week told Dow Jones Newswires the Anglo-Australian company plans to
keep hold of the prized Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold project in
Mongolia, but has no interest in other assets of Ivanhoe Mines.
Reeve said that if Rio pushes for Ivanhoe Mines to sell out of
its Australian arm then that may dovetail with the process
currently underway by UBS.
Ivanhoe Australia earlier Thursday said independent director Ian
Plimer has been appointed interim chairman following the
resignation of Robert Friedland, who in additional to being
chairman of Ivanhoe Australia was CEO of Ivanhoe Mines, a company
he founded.
Kay Priestly, the newly appointed interim CEO of Ivanhoe Mines
and chief financial officer of Rio's copper division, in a
statement said: "We will continue to work constructively with the
board and management of Ivanhoe Australia in order to maximize
value for all shareholders."
Ivanhoe Australia's Cloncurry portfolio includes the Osborne
copper and gold project bought from Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX) in
2010, the Merlin molybdenum-rhenium project, Mount Dore cathode
copper project and Mount Elliott copper-gold project.
-By Robb M. Stewart, Dow Jones Newswires; +61 3 9292 2094;
robb.stewart@dowjones.com
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