Robert Friedland appears to have done it again.
The executive chairman of Ivanhoe Mines (IVN-T, IVN-N, IVAN-Q) and the man behind its massive Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold find in Mongolia, is close to clearing the final hurdle to develop the project.
On April 10, the company announced that it, along with its partner at Oyu Tolgoi, Rio Tinto (RTP-N, RIO-L), has reached an agreement in principle with the Mongolian government on a draft of the much anticipated investment agreement — the key document the company needs to develop Oyu Tolgoi.
Ivanhoe says the draft is still subject to review and approval by the cabinet and national parliament as well as by the boards of Ivanhoe and Rio Tinto.
The company did not release any details about the agreement, but said it will do so “when appropriate.”
In his market commentary, Northern Securities analyst Jeremy Link said that political risk in Mongolia remains high.
“This latest development strengthens the foundations for a stable investment in Mongolia, but we believe that any new definitive investment agreements may be in flux until the 2008 parliamentary elections,” he wrote.
Link also said that once the details of the draft are made public, the agreement will likely set the bar for future investment deals.
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