On December 29, and again on January 11, 2010, IRC’s board of directors issued recommendations that IRC shareholders reject the Franco-Nevada offer and vote in favor of the Royal Gold offer. IRC shareholders were scheduled to vote on the Royal Gold-IRC transaction on February 20, 2010.

In the December 18 announcement, Royal Gold President and CEO Tony Jensen said, “The combination of Royal Gold and IRC brings together a portfolio of nearly 200 royalty interests and creates a combined company that would hold royalty interests on some of the highest quality mines in the world, generate substantial cash flow, and yield one of the most attractive project development pipelines in the entire mineral industry. For the 12 months prior to September 30, 2009, the combined entities generated $113 million in royalty revenue, 71% of which was attributable to precious metals. With most of the future growth in the IRC portfolio coming from precious metals, both sets of shareholders will benefit from gold-focused revenue growth.”