CRU/CESCO-UPDATE 1-Ivanhoe eyes growth potential at Oyu Tolgoi

* Sees vast potential to expand existing resource base
* Plans to more than double worth of in-situ resources
SANTIAGO, April 8 (Reuters) - Ivanhoe Mines (IVN.TO) sees a vast potential to expand existing resources at its flagship Oyu Tolgoi project in southern Mongolia, said Robert Friedland, the head of the Canadian mining company, on Thursday.
Friedland, the founder and executive chairman of Ivanhoe, said the company plans to more than double the worth of its in-situ metal resources to $1 trillion, from about $400 billion at present.
"We have about 35 million tonnes of copper and 47 million ounces of gold, we want to push that to 100 million tonnes of copper and 100 million ounces of gold," said Friedland, who delivered the keynote address at the CRU/Cesco copper conference in Santiago.
The $5 billion Oyu Tolgoi project, which is expected to produce about 1 billion pounds of copper and 500,000 ounces of gold a year when it reaches full production, was finally approved by the Mongolian government in 2009 after years of legal wrangling.
Friedland said the company plans to announce an integrated development plan that outlines future growth prospects at Oyu Tolgoi after its annual shareholder meeting in May.
Ivanhoe, on Tuesday, adopted a shareholder rights plan that the company hopes to pass at its shareholder meeting next month. [ID:nN06223348] (Reporting by Euan Rocha; Editing by John Picinich) 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog