Mining giant Rio Tinto plc (NYSE:RTP) has appointed a veteran Texas oil executive to the board of Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (TSX:IVN).
Vancouver-based Ivanhoe said the move fills a vacancy that was created on the company’s board after Robert Hanson retired.
Rio Tinto has now appointed four people to Ivanhoe’s 14-member board.
The two companies are partnered on Ivanhoe’s massive Oyu Tolgoi project in Mongolia.
As a result of a 2006 agreement, Rio Tinto now holds a 34.9% stake in Ivanhoe and is allowed to appoint members to the Ivanhoe board based on its shareholding. The agreement also allows Rio Tinto to increase its ownership in Ivanhoe to 44%.
The latest addition to the Ivanhoe board is Robert Holland III, the executive co-chairman of Max Petroleum plc (LSE:MXP), a London-based oil company focused on Kazakhstan.
Holland also formerly held positions as a Dallas attorney and the U.S. executive director of the World Bank.
In a release, Ivanhoe thanked Hanson for his decade-long role on the company’s board but said nothing about Holland’s appointment.
The changes to the board come less than a month after Robert Friedland, Ivanhoe’s founder, re-assumed the title of CEO.
The company is also in the midst of an arbitration proceeding Rio Tinto launched earlier this year after it claimed Ivanhoe breached the 2006 agreement when it adopted a poison pill strategy to block takeover attempts (see “Shareholders’ plan threatens Ivanhoe-Rio Tinto partnership” – issue 1082; July 20-26).
On October 26, Ivanhoe filed a counterclaim to the arbitration saying Rio Tinto breached the 2006 agreement when it engaged in “activities that could affect control of Ivanhoe Mines without Ivanhoe’s permission.”
An arbitrator will hear the claims early next year.
At press time, Ivanhoe’s shares were valued at $26.26.
Baja Mining Corp.’s (TSX:BAJ) proposed Boleo copper mine is almost fully financed.
The Vancouver-based company announced last week plans to raise $160 million via a cross-border bought-deal financing that would fulfil the equity component needed to construct the project.
Boleo, which was originally discovered in the 1800s, is in Mexico, but the company said it’s only recently become economically viable.
The company has a 70% stake in the project.
A syndicate of Korean industrial companies holds the other 30%.
On September 8, Baja said it secured a US$830 million debt package to fund the mine’s construction.
At press time, the company’s shares were trading at $1.17, which represents a 48% increase since September 7.
First Majestic Silver Corp. (TSX:FR) posted a record third quarter for earnings and cash flow last week. The Vancouver-based silver producer recorded a 114% increase in revenue in the third quarter to $36.1 million when compared with the same period in 2009. The company’s net income after taxes soared 458% to $10.3 million over last year’s third quarter, while earnings per share were up 450% to $0.11. First Majestic president and CEO Keith Neumeyer said the increases were largely the result of a new plant at its La Encantada silver mine in Mexico and a significant jump in silver prices.
Also for the third quarter, the company’s cash flow increased $19.6 million to $25.5 million when compared with the same period in 2009, while total cash costs per ounce dropped 14% to US$7.42 per ounce. The company produced approximately 1.8 million ounces of silver in the third quarter, which represents a 95% increase when compared with 2009’s third quarter. Since August 10, First Majestic’s shares have jumped 252% to $10.22.