Ivanhoe Mines and Mitsui & Co. form strategic alliance to develop major copper-gold, coal and infrastructure projects in Souther
March 30 2005 - 8:21AM
PR Newswire (US)
Ivanhoe Mines and Mitsui & Co. form strategic alliance to
develop major copper-gold, coal and infrastructure projects in
Southern Mongolia ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia, March 30
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Robert Friedland, Chairman of Ivanhoe
Mines Ltd., of Canada, and Katsuto Momii, Executive Director and
Executive Vice-President of Mitsui & Co., Ltd., of Japan,
announced today that Ivanhoe and Mitsui have agreed to work
together to jointly develop copper/gold and coal projects, and to
deliver related transportation, electrical energy and other
infrastructure services, in Mongolia's South Gobi Region. Mr.
Friedland and Mr. Momii announced the signing of the memorandum of
understanding (MOU) establishing their strategic alliance while
hosting a reception attended by Mongolia's national leaders and
parliamentarians. Ivanhoe Mines, with production, development and
exploration projects in the Asia-Pacific region, and Mitsui &
Co., one of Japan's leading companies, intend to play an important
role in supporting the Mongolian government's recently announced
South Gobi Development Initiative. The companies' contribution to
the initiative will involve the construction of a modern,
state-of-the-art electricity generating plant, transmission lines,
roads and railways. The initial focus of the strategic alliance
between Ivanhoe and Mitsui will be the integrated development of
infrastructure projects in Mongolia's South Gobi Region to support
the development of Ivanhoe's copper-gold and coal discoveries and
other resource initiatives. Features of the MOU include: 1.
Agreement by Ivanhoe and Mitsui to jointly develop infrastructure
projects in Mongolia's South Gobi. Ivanhoe has formed the South
Gobi Power Development Corporation (SGPDC), a Japanese company with
the specific objective of developing a new, environmentally
friendly and state-of-the art source of electricity in the region.
Mitsui will join the initiative and take an equity position in
SGPDC. Ivanhoe and Mitsui will consider the participation by other
strategic partners in SGPDC from Japan, China and Mongolia at a
later date. The companies also will consider possible participation
by Mitsui in the development of additional infrastructure necessary
to support the operation of Ivanhoe's Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine.
2. A declaration by Mitsui that it intends to participate in the
development of Ivanhoe's recent coal discoveries and that it shares
with Ivanhoe a common objective of acquiring a significant interest
in the Tavan Tolgoi coal development. Ivanhoe currently is
delineating substantial high-quality coal resources, including an
unusually thick seam of high-quality bituminous coal in the Nariin
Sukhait area on property controlled by Ivanhoe in Southern
Mongolia, approximately 40 kilometres north of the Mongolia-China
border. Ivanhoe and Mitsui also are jointly pursuing other
coal-development projects and initiatives, including the Tavan
Tolgoi deposit, in the South Gobi Region. 3. Advancing the
development of Ivanhoe's Oyu Tolgoi Copper-Gold Project in
Mongolia's South Gobi Region. A series of discoveries by Ivanhoe
Mines at Oyu Tolgoi during the past four years now constitute the
world's largest, greenfields copper-gold mining project. Mitsui has
declared its interest in participating in the development of Oyu
Tolgoi and Ivanhoe has agreed to consider an opportunity for Mitsui
to purchase an equity participation in the project. "Mitsui, a
leading trading house with enormous resources and a long and
honourable tradition as one of the pre-eminent business architects
of the modern Japanese economy, is an ideal partner to work with
Ivanhoe in building a powerful new engine of economic growth in
Mongolia's South Gobi Region," Mr. Friedland said. "Through its
direct investments and business activities around the world, Mitsui
is highly respected in the global mining, metals and energy
businesses. Mongolia is poised to become a significant contributor
to world trade in copper, gold and coal. By working together, we
can deliver a new generation of integrated resource assets in a
timely, cost-effective and environmentally responsible manner that
will ensure maximum benefits for the Mongolian economy and all
Mongolians." "We are extremely excited and happy to be involved in
the future development of the South Gobi region together with
Ivanhoe Mines, a company that has a long-standing presence in
Mongolia," Mr. Momii said. "It is our strong intention to
contribute to Mongolia in the long term and we look forward to
working closely with the Mongolian people." Mitsui & Co., Ltd.
is a leading trading company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, with
more than 700 subsidiaries and associated companies around the
world. Their trading activities include the investment, sale,
distribution, purchase, marketing and supply of a wide variety of
products, including iron and steel, non-ferrous metals, machinery,
electronics, chemicals, energy- related commodities and products,
food products, textiles, general merchandise and real estate.
Annual revenue is in excess of USD$28 billion. It is one of
Mitsui's core business strategies to invest in mineral resources,
including coal, iron ore and copper. Mitsui has partnerships with
leading mining companies BHP-Billiton, Rio Tinto, Anglo American,
Falconbridge and CVRD in key mineral-production nations, including
Australia, Chile, Brazil and India. Ivanhoe has a 100% interest in
the Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold project and owns or controls
exploration rights covering approximately 125,000 square kilometres
in Mongolia, where additional copper, gold and coal discoveries are
being delineated. Ivanhoe produces LME Grade A copper from its
Monywa joint venture in Myanmar. Ivanhoe has previously announced a
strategic-alliance agreement with China International Trust and
Investment Corporation (CITIC) to pursue international projects to
help China meet its rapidly growing demand for metals and energy.
Ivanhoe also has MOUs with Jiangxi Copper Co. and China Non-Ferrous
Metals Corporation to cooperate in the development of copper
resources in the Greater China Region. Ivanhoe's shares are listed
on the New York, Toronto and Australian stock exchanges under the
symbol IVN. Forward-Looking Statements: This document includes
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but
are not limited to, statements concerning Ivanhoe's agreements with
Mitsui & Co. and other statements that are not historical
facts. When used in this document, the words such as "could,"
"plan," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "potential,"
"should," and similar expressions are forward-looking statements.
Although Ivanhoe Mines believes that its expectations reflected in
these forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements
involve risks and uncertainties and no assurance can be given that
actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking
statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to
differ from these forward-looking statements are disclosed under
the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in the corporation's
periodic filings with Canadian, US and Australian securities
regulators. Mitsui information contact in Japan Corporate
Communications Division: Eiki Okada, +81.3.3285.7562 Ivanhoe
information contacts in North America Investors: Bill Trenaman,
(604) 688-5755 Media: Bob Williamson, (604) 688-5755 DATASOURCE:
Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. CONTACT: Mitsui information contact in Japan,
Corporate Communications Division: Eiki Okada, +81.3.3285.7562;
Ivanhoe information contacts in North America, Investors: Bill
Trenaman, (604) 688-5755; Media: Bob Williamson, (604) 688-5755; To
request a free copy of this organization's annual report, please go
to http://www.newswire.ca/ and click on reports@cnw.
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