Friedland's Ivanhoe in talks with Chinalco on co-operation

A recent courtesy meeting between the chief executives of Ivanhoe Mines and Chinalco has raised the prospect of the two compnaies co-operating on a major mining venture

HONG KONG (Reuters) - 

Chinese metals conglomerate Chinalco is willing to work with Canada's Ivanhoe Mines (IVN.TO: Quote) but a meeting between the two firms' chief executives last week was preliminary and brought no firm deals, the companies said.

"It was a courtesy visit," Chinalco's spokesman Lu Youqing said of the meeting between Chinalco president Xiong Weiping and Ivanhoe Mines' (IVN.TO: Quote) chairman Robert Friedland.

Chinalco is trying to rebound from the failure of its $19.5 billion investment in Rio Tinto (RIO.AX: Quote) and has vowed to seek other investments abroad, focusing on metals at the core of its strategy, such as aluminium and copper, rather than iron ore, a key element of the Rio deal.

Ivanhoe is partnered with Rio in Mongolia, where the two firms have spent years trying to win acceptable terms to start mining their giant Oyu Tolgoi project in Mongolia, billed as the world's largest untapped copper/gold deposit.

Following the meeting, the Chinese firm said in a statement it was willing to proceed with wide and deep cooperation with Ivanhoe.

Ivanhoe Group's spokesman Bob Williamson said in an emailed reply to Reuters questions that Friedland's discussions with Chinalco representatives covered a wide range of international developments, including the major copper discovery in the Democratic Republic of Congo by Ivanhoe Nickel & Platinum, which is open to participation by a strategic partner or syndicate.

The discussion also included the molybdenum and rhenium discovery by Ivanhoe Australia.

Lu gave no details of the discussion but said the talk was not up to the level that the two companies would set up joint ventures.

He declined to say whether Chinalco was interested in investing in the Mongolian project.

"We are interested in global (investment)," he said.

Williamson wrote: "Ivanhoe Mines already has a leading international miner as the company's strategic partner for the development of Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia".

"Rio Tinto made its initial investment in Ivanhoe Mines in 2006 and has been actively involved with Ivanhoe since then in discussions and negotiations with the Mongolian Government toward a final Investment Agreement that will set the stage for full-scale construction of the planned mining complex."

(Editing by James Jukwey)

© Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.

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