Chinalco looks to buy stake in huge Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine
As Mineweb speculated back in March it now looks as if Chinalco is definitely planning to take a stake in Ivanhoe/Rio Tinto's massive Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine in Mongolia. Posted: Wednesday , 07 Jul 2010
LONDON (Reuters) -
Global miner Rio Tinto's (RIO.AX) (RIO.L) biggest shareholder, China's Chinalco, is considering buying a stake in the massive Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold project in Mongolia, according to a regulatory filing.
Oyu Tolgoi is billed as one of the world's biggest undeveloped mine deposits and is expected to cost $4.6 billion to build. Rio said it was interested in converting its stake in partner Ivanhoe Mines (IVN.TO), which discovered the deposit, into direct ownership of the mine project, Ivanhoe reported in a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
"Chinalco has indicated an interest in acquiring a minority equity stake in the company or acquiring, from the company, a direct minority ownership interest in the OT project," Ivanhoe said in the filing.
"Rio Tinto's ongoing discussions with Aluminum Corporation of China (Chinalco) also continue."
The filing confirms what Chinalco -- which has a 9 percent stake in Rio -- told Reuters on Tuesday about its interest in investing in Oyu Tolgoi.
Rio is in charge of building and operating the mine but its holding in the deposit is indirect, through Ivanhoe.
Rio has been holding talks with Ivanhoe about "the potential conversion of its ... equity stake in the company into a direct ownership interest in the Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mineral development project," the filing said.
On June 29, Rio paid $393 million to exercise warrants and increase its stake in Ivanhoe to 29.6 percent.
The end result of talks could be a two-way or three-way agreement between Ivanhoe, Rio and Chinalco, it added.
Rio has also discussed the mine project with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Finance Corp, the finance arm of the World Bank, the filing said.
(Reporting by Eric Onstad; Editing by Erica Billingham)
LONDON (Reuters) -
Global miner Rio Tinto's (RIO.AX) (RIO.L) biggest shareholder, China's Chinalco, is considering buying a stake in the massive Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold project in Mongolia, according to a regulatory filing.
Oyu Tolgoi is billed as one of the world's biggest undeveloped mine deposits and is expected to cost $4.6 billion to build. Rio said it was interested in converting its stake in partner Ivanhoe Mines (IVN.TO), which discovered the deposit, into direct ownership of the mine project, Ivanhoe reported in a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
"Chinalco has indicated an interest in acquiring a minority equity stake in the company or acquiring, from the company, a direct minority ownership interest in the OT project," Ivanhoe said in the filing.
"Rio Tinto's ongoing discussions with Aluminum Corporation of China (Chinalco) also continue."
The filing confirms what Chinalco -- which has a 9 percent stake in Rio -- told Reuters on Tuesday about its interest in investing in Oyu Tolgoi.
Rio is in charge of building and operating the mine but its holding in the deposit is indirect, through Ivanhoe.
Rio has been holding talks with Ivanhoe about "the potential conversion of its ... equity stake in the company into a direct ownership interest in the Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mineral development project," the filing said.
On June 29, Rio paid $393 million to exercise warrants and increase its stake in Ivanhoe to 29.6 percent.
The end result of talks could be a two-way or three-way agreement between Ivanhoe, Rio and Chinalco, it added.
Rio has also discussed the mine project with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Finance Corp, the finance arm of the World Bank, the filing said.
(Reporting by Eric Onstad; Editing by Erica Billingham)
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