Ivanhoe Mines Secures Financing for First 2 Mines in DRC

Ivanhoe Mines Secures Financing for First 2 Mines in DRC

Left to right: Peter Zhou (vice president, corporate development, Asia, Ivanhoe Mines), Yufeng “Miles” Sun
(president, CITIC Metal Group/chairman, CITIC Resources Holdings/co-chairman, Ivanhoe Mines), Robert Friedland
(executive co-chairman, Ivanhoe Mines) and Manfu Ma (vice president, CITIC Metal Group).

Thanks to additional investments of more than $503 million, Ivanhoe Mines said it will be able to finance its first two mines, Kakula and Kipushi, to commercial production. CITIC Metal, through a subsidiary, is investing an additional $454 million in Ivanhoe and Zijin Mining Group exercised its anti-dultion rights generating $49 million. Co-chairmen Robert Friedland and Yufeng “Miles” Sun, said the proceeds are expected to be received no later than September 7.

The funds will also allow Ivanhoe to significantly advance or achieve production at the Platreef Project in South Africa, the company said. Zijin Mining is Ivanhoe’s joint-venture partner at the Kamoa-Kakula copper project in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Zijin’s exercise of its anti-dilution rights will maintain its ownership in Ivanhoe Mines at 9.8%. The Kamoa-Kakula project has been ranked as the world’s largest, undeveloped, high-grade copper discovery by consultant Wood Mackenzie.

The Kipushi prohect is 68% owned by Ivanhoe and 32% held by the DRC’s stateowned mining company, Gécamines. The project is based on the high-grade, underground zinc-copper mine in the Central African Copperbelt, which mined approximately 60 million metric tons grading 11% zinc and 7% copper between 1924 and 1993.

As featured in Womp 2019 Vol 06 - www.womp-int.com