Ivanhoe Mines and Rio Tinto Sign Omnibus Agreement to Ensure Funding Through to Commercial Production and Additional Expansion at Oyu Tolgoi Copper-Gold-Silver Project
New plan includes US$1.8 billion in equity financing Rio Tinto to provide additional bridge-loan financing and completion support for US$3-4 billion project financing being negotiated with multinational financial institutions and banks Rio Tinto to nominate independent directors to Ivanhoe board and a new CEO and senior management team Conference call for investors at 4:30 pm EDT Wednesday April 18
(firmenpresse) - VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 04/18/12 -- Ivanhoe Mines' (TSX: IVN)(NYSE: IVN)(NASDAQ: IVN) founder Robert Friedland announced today that the company has signed a binding memorandum of agreement with majority shareholder Rio Tinto that establishes Rio Tinto's support for a series of funding measures expected to cover all projected capital requirements for Ivanhoe's flagship Oyu Tolgoi Project in southern Mongolia for the next four to five years.
"This agreement sets the stage for the Oyu Tolgoi Project's transition to a major mining operation in coming months," Mr. Friedland said.
"The measure of certainty that Rio Tinto's financial resources and global industry leadership bring to the realization of our long-cherished Oyu Tolgoi dream is reassuring for the people and government of Mongolia, and for Ivanhoe's shareholders.
"We were attracted to Mongolia's new horizons for resources opportunities 17 years ago. It now is a fact of Mongolia's modern history that the men and women of Oyu Tolgoi LLC and Ivanhoe Mines discovered some of the world's largest deposits of copper, gold, silver and molybdenum in the South Gobi Region. And today, with Rio Tinto's expanded support, we are counting down to the start-up later this year of what I am sure will quickly grow to become one of the world's most significant, and successful, mining complexes," Mr. Friedland added.
"For generations to come, this remarkable, unfolding story will continue to contribute so much to Mongolia's economic growth, enhance its reputation as a destination for international investment and infuse with well-placed confidence the personal aspirations and national pride of so many Mongolians."
In accordance with terms of the agreement between Ivanhoe Mines and Rio Tinto, Mr. Friedland resigned yesterday as a member of the Ivanhoe Mines Board of Directors and as Chief Executive Officer. Six other directors and four other senior management members also resigned yesterday.
Comprehensive financial plan to launch Oyu Tolgoi as world-scale copper-gold miner
Mr. Friedland said that the agreement, negotiated by a committee of Ivanhoe Mines' independent directors, contains a comprehensive financing plan structured to secure Rio Tinto's direct participation in, and support for, funding for planned developments at Oyu Tolgoi.
"All members of the Ivanhoe Mines Board of Directors have been acutely aware of their paramount duties to ensure that the interests of all shareholders are adequately protected. This now has been accomplished with the comprehensive plan and we can be confident that funding will be available to keep Oyu Tolgoi on schedule and carry it through, and well beyond, the start of commercial production."
Rio Tinto's commitments will support:
Assurances for financing measures provided by Rio Tinto
Rio Tinto is committed to the following steps:
In addition, Ivanhoe Mines is engaged in active and detailed negotiations on potential divestments involving its subsidiary interests, which would supplement the comprehensive financing plan that has been arranged with Rio Tinto.
Transition will include restructuring of the Ivanhoe Mines Board of Directors
and appointment of a new senior management team
In paving the way for Oyu Tolgoi's transition to a miner, Ivanhoe Mines and Rio Tinto have reached amicable agreement on the following corporate governance and management changes:
Mr. Gordon, the Interim Chair and a member of the Ivanhoe Mines board for the past 18 months, acknowledged the contributions and achievements of the outgoing directors and management executives.
"From the beginning of the exploration discoveries in 2001 to today's advanced-stage development project at Oyu Tolgoi, Robert Friedland and the Ivanhoe team have done an outstanding job of adding value for shareholders. With Ivanhoe now assured of full funding, the new board and management team will share the exciting prospect of building on that legacy and completing Oyu Tolgoi's transformation into one of the most valuable copper-mining complexes in the world."
Ivanhoe Mines to issue Series 'D' warrants to Rio Tinto
In conjunction with the equity financing and the overall package of extending interim lines of credit and completion guarantees of support, Ivanhoe Mines will issue 55 million Series 'D' share-purchase warrants to Rio Tinto.
Each warrant will be exercisable to purchase one Ivanhoe share at US$12.79 at any time and from time to time during a three-year period. The price of the warrants is based on the volume-weighted average price of the Ivanhoe shares on the New York Stock Exchange on the five trading days preceding the date of the companies' memorandum of understanding.
Conference call with investors to discuss financial plan
Ms. Priestly, Interim CEO of Ivanhoe Mines, and Mr. Gordon, Interim Chairman of the Board, will conduct a conference call and webcast beginning at 4:30 p.m. EDT (1:30 p.m. PDT) on Wednesday, April 18, to discuss details of the comprehensive financial plan with investors following the close of trading on North American stock exchanges.
The conference call presentation may be accessed by dialing 1-866-225-0198 in Canada and the United States, or 1-416-340-8061 in the Toronto area and internationally. A simultaneous webcast of the conference call will be provided through . The conference call will be archived for later playback until April 25, 2012 and may be accessed by dialing 1-800-408-3053 or 1-905-694-9451 and entering the pass code 3291894.
About Ivanhoe Mines
Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN)(NYSE: IVN)(NASDAQ: IVN) is an international mining company with operations focused in the Asia Pacific region. Assets include the company's 66% interest in the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold-silver mine development project in southern Mongolia; a 58% interest in Mongolian coal miner SouthGobi Resources (TSX: SGQ)(HK: 1878); a 59% interest in copper-gold miner Ivanhoe Australia (TSX: IVA)(ASX: IVA), which also is developing a molybdenum-rhenium discovery; and a 50% interest in Altynalmas Gold, a private company developing the Kyzyl Gold Project in Kazakhstan.
Ivanhoe Mines' shares are listed on the New York, NASDAQ and Toronto stock exchanges under the symbol IVN.
Website:
Forward-looking statements
Certain statements made herein, including statements relating to matters that are not historical facts and statements of our beliefs, intentions and expectations about developments, results and events which will or may occur in the future, constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking information and statements are typically identified by words such as "anticipate," "could," "should," "expect," "seek," "may," "intend," "likely," "plan," "estimate," "will," "believe" and similar expressions suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook. These include, but are not limited to statements made with respect to the memorandum of agreement that establishes Rio Tinto's support for a series of funding measures expected to cover all projected capital requirements for Ivanhoe's flagship Oyu Tolgoi Project in southern Mongolia for the next four to five years; statements regarding the scheduled start of production from the initial open-pit mine in the second half of this year; statements regarding the ramp-up to commercial production during the first half of 2013; statements regarding construction of a dedicated, coal-fired electrical power plant in Mongolia; statements regarding plans to use power imported from China during the project's initial years of operation; statements regarding continuing development of Oyu Tolgoi's second phase, including expansion of the concentrator's nameplate capacity to 160,000 tonnes per day and a start of production of high-grade ore from the Hugo Dummett underground block-cave mine in 2016 - which will increase to 54,000 tonnes per day by 2019, with subsequent increases to full production of 85,000 tonnes per day; statements that Rio Tinto will provide full support for completion of an Oyu Tolgoi project-finance package of US$3 to $4 billion to be provided by third-party lenders; statements regarding the Ivanhoe Mines and Rio Tinto goal of completing a project-finance arrangement by the end of this year; statements that the interim financing and bridge-funding facilities will be repaid from the proceeds of the project-finance package and an equity financing; and statements regarding Ivanhoe's plan to issue 55 million Series 'D' share-purchase warrants to Rio Tinto.
All such forward-looking information and statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by Ivanhoe Mines' management in light of their experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors management believes are appropriate in the circumstances. These statements, however, are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information or statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements include those described under the headings "Risk Factors" and "Risks and Uncertainties" elsewhere in the Company's periodic filings with Canadian and U.S. securities regulators. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements.
Contacts:
Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. - Investors
Bill Trenaman
+1.604.688.5755
Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. - Media
Bob Williamson
+1.604.688.5755
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Datum: 18.04.2012 - 12:15 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 136377
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