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Some details of the draft agreement between Ivanhoe Mines (TSE:IVN, NYSE:IVN), Rio Tinto and the Government of Mongolia as provided by Ivanhoe in their recent press release.
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In April 10, 2007, after several months of negotiations, Ivanhoe Mines
and Rio Tinto reached an
agreement in principle with the Mongolian Government's Working Group
on a draft Investment
Agreement for the development and long-term operation of the Oyu
Tolgoi copper-gold project in the
South Gobi Region.
The terms of the draft Investment Agreement provide a necessary period
of development and longterm
operational stability and certainty of principal tax and fiscal issues
that will allow for the
realization of Oyu Tolgoi's benefits for the people of Mongolia and
for shareholders of the investors: Ivanhoe Mines and Rio Tinto. The agreement would have an initial term
of 30 years, with the
opportunity to extend the agreement for additional 20-year terms.
The draft Investment Agreement remains subject to consideration and
approval by Mongolia's State
Great Hural (National Parliament) and also is subject to review and
approval by the respective boards
of directors of Ivanhoe Mines and Rio Tinto.
In accordance with revised terms of Mongolia's Mineral Law enacted
last year, Oyu Tolgoi is
designated a "strategic" deposit. As a result, the draft Investment
Agreement provides for Mongolia to
acquire 34% of the shares of Ivanhoe Mines Mongolia Inc. (IMMI), the
Ivanhoe subsidiary that owns and is developing Oyu Tolgoi. As a
shareholder, the State of Mongolia would be responsible for its share
of the total capital required by IMMI to develop an initial open-pit
mine, projected to be in roduction in 2010, and a phase-two
underground mine projected to be in operation in 2014. If necessary,
Ivanhoe Mines would contribute, some or all, of Mongolia's share of capital costs during he first six years of the project, which then
would be repaid, with interest, from Mongolia's share of dividends from
ownership of IMMI's shares.
Other provisions in the draft agreement include:
-
The Mongolian Government would be entitled to appoint three of the nine directors of IMMI. The
project's management team would be nominated by Ivanhoe.
• The rates of more than 20 taxes, fees and charges under Mongolian laws would be stabilized for
the term of the agreement. While current rates would apply, any lower rates introduced in the
future also would be applied to Oyu Tolgoi.
- Gold produced at Oyu Tolgoi would be sold to the Central Bank of
Mongolia at international
market prices, and therefore would be exempt from the 68% Windfall
Profits Tax enacted by the
Mongolian Parliament last year. IMMI has pledged to facilitate,possibly
with other parties, the
construction of a copper smelter in Mongolia within five years of the
start of production at Oyu
Tolgoi, ensuring that copper ore and copper produced at Oyu Tolgoi also
would be exempt from the Windfall Profits Tax for the full term of the
agreement.
• During operation of the mines, a minimum of 90% of Oyu Tolgoi project
employees would be
Mongolian nationals. During construction, a maximum of 25% of employees
would be foreign
nationals.
- IMMI is committed to an extensive skills training program. The Company's goal is to ensure that
Mongolians fill 51% of engineering positions within 10 years of start up. The company would
establish a graduate scholarship program, targeting engineering-related fields, at Mongolian and
international universities to help qualify 100 Mongolians for advanced mining jobs in six years.
The draft Investment Agreement was presented to Mongolia's National Parliament on July 9, 2007.
Consideration and approval by the National Parliament is expected to be the final step in the process
being conducted in accordance with the revised Minerals Law enacted by Parliament last year.
The Parliament's Standing Committee on Economics discussed the draft agreement on August 6 and
7. The Parliament has extended its spring session into August, but nodate for the adjournment of the
current session has been announced. Ivanhoe Mines – with the encouraging public support of its
Mongolian employees, suppliers and contractors – has expressed its concern to all the Members of
Parliament, the Government's Cabinet and the President about potential adverse impacts on the cost
and timing for the project that would result from any further delays in the parliamentary approval
process. Ivanhoe Mines will monitor the deliberations of the National Parliament and continue to
assess the implications for the Oyu Tolgoi development schedule.
The final substantive step in achieving the approval of the draft Investment Agreement rests with the
National Parliament. There can be no assurance that Parliament will approve the existing draft
agreement, as presently written, or that the approved agreement will contain all of the terms and
conditions sought by Ivanhoe Mines and/or Rio Tinto as presently negotiated. In addition, there can
be no assurance that the Company will receive approval by Parliament in the foreseeable future or at
all. Consequently, without final approval or timely approval by Parliament, the Company may not be
able to close future financings, including the private placement and warrant transactions with Rio
Tinto, obtain project financing or otherwise raise capital before its existing cash resources are
expended with the result that the Oyu Tolgoi Project may not be constructed in a timely manner, or at
all. See "Risks and Uncertainties" in Ivanhoe Mines' Management's Discussion and Analysis for the
year ended December 31, 2006.
The Investment Agreement that was negotiated with the Mongolian Government's Working Group
addressed the various salient issues presented by amendments that were enacted by Parliament in
2006 to the Minerals Law and Tax Laws. These issues include, but arenot necessarily limited to, the
following:
Strategic Deposit. Pursuant to the 2006 Amended Minerals Law, the Government of Mongolia was
provided the option to acquire interests in mineral deposits deemed to be "mineral deposits of
strategic importance". The Government gained a qualified right to acquire an interest of 1) up to 34%
in strategic deposits discovered through privately financed exploration; and 2) up to 50% in deposits
that were discovered through the use of state funds during the era of the former Soviet Union. The
Oyu Tolgoi discoveries on the Company's licences, and on the adjoining Entrée Gold joint venture
property, were financed entirely by private capital.
The Amended Minerals Law states that any acquisition of a state interest in a mining project will be
subject to negotiation with the licence holder as part of the Investment Agreement process.
Royalty rates. The Government's royalty on all metals increased from 2.5% to 5.0% and is based on
gross sales.
Tax rates. The 30% income tax rate on personal and corporate income was reduced to 10% and 25%
respectively. The value-added tax was reduced from 15% to 10%.
Licence maturity. The term of an exploration licence was increased from seven to nine years. The
maximum term for a mining licence, including possible extensions, was reduced from 100 years to 50
years (30 years with a possible extension of 20 years).
Employment requirements. A licence holder is obligated to employ no more than 10% foreign
citizens or face a monthly surcharge of 10 times the minimum monthly salary for each foreign citizen
employee above the 10% limit.
Listing requirements. An entity holding a mining licence for a deposit classified as a "mineral deposit
of strategic importance" now is required to list at least 10% of its shares on the Mongolian Stock
Exchange. It is uncertain, at present, how this requirement will be implemented in practice and what
steps may need to be taken to accomplish such listing.
Maximum duration of Investment Agreements. The maximum duration of Investment Agreements
has been prescribed in the Amended Minerals Law as follows:
-
Investment between $50-$100 million — 10-year term
- Investment between $100-$300 million — 15-year term
-
Investment greater than $300 million — 30-year term.
The Oyu Tolgoi Project qualifies for an Investment Agreement with an initial 30-year term.
Other income tax amendments. Amendments to the Tax Law also include the introduction of a 10%
investment tax credit, the introduction of a two-year loss-carry-forward provision and improved
depreciation allowances. These amendments are expected to compensate for the elimination of the
tax holidays that previously applied only to foreign-owned companies as licence holders. Presently,
mining is not considered by the Government of Mongolia to qualify for the investment tax credit.
Excess Profits Tax. In May 2006, a 68% excess profits tax was approved by the Mongolian
Parliament. The tax applies to sales revenue, net of all selling and treatment charges, which exceeds certain threshold levels for gold and copper ore and concentrates.
Based on the Company's initial assessment, the effective price at which the tax will apply to Oyu
Tolgoi copper currently is estimated to be $1.45 per pound, since the legislated base price of $1.18 per
pound, along with the cost of external smelting and realization costs, can be deducted from sales proceeds.
The Government also has confirmed that the new excess profits tax would not be applied to copper
smelted in Mongolia and would not apply to the gold contained in copper concentrate. It is envisaged
that the Oyu Tolgoi Project will be a producer of copper concentrate and gold produced at Oyu Tolgoi
will be contained in copper concentrate.
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