COPPER: CITIC pledges $612M to Ivanhoe for Kamoa-Kakula

[caption id="attachment_1003729869" align="aligncenter" width="436"] Magnified native copper from the Kamoa-Kakula project in DRC. (Image: Ivanhoe Mines)[/caption] DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO – CITIC Metal Africa, a subsidiary of China’s state-owned CITIC Metal Co., has made a $612-million investment in Ivanhoe Mines. The funding news comes shortly after the company announced it will fast track the Kamoa-Kakula copper project 25 km west of Kolwezi into production. Ivanhoe recently said its exploration program has extended the shallow high grade copper project 500 metres to the north. Recent assays returned copper grades up to 13.80% over 15.5 metres. CITIC will receive 153.8 million Ivanhoe common shares priced at $3.98 per share in return for its $612 million investment. Earlier this year, CITIC made a similarly sized investment in Ivanhoe, and now has an approximately 29.4% interest in the Canadian company. Zijin Mining Group – Ivanhoe’s joint venture partner at Kamoa-Kakula – exercised its anti-dilution rights by paying $3.98 per share for a total of $67 million, maintaining its interest in Ivanhoe at about 9.8%. Ivanhoe says it will soon have cash and equivalents of about $1.1 billion and no significant debt going into development at Kamoa-Kakula. Learn more at www.IvanhoeMines.com.