Copper bottom

12 June 2018 By Clara Ferreira Marques

State-backed CITIC has poured $560 mln into Robert Friedland’s Ivanhoe Mines. That is an unusual endorsement of the Democratic Republic of Congo, following a punitive new mining code. The move suggests a compromise is still likely, which would benefit Glencore and Randgold too.

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CITIC Metal, a unit of state-backed Chinese conglomerate CITIC Ltd, agreed on June 11 to buy a near-20 percent stake in Canada’s Ivanhoe Mines for C$723 million ($555 million). Ivanhoe will sell new stock to CITIC Metal at C$3.68 per share. The stock closed on June 11 at C$3.35.

Ivanhoe plans to use the proceeds to develop projects in southern Africa, including the Kamoa-Kakula copper discovery in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

CITIC Metal will become Ivanhoe’s largest single shareholder, making founder Robert Friedland the second-largest, with a stake of more than 17 percent. Existing shareholders in Ivanhoe include China’s Zijin Mining.

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