Billionaire promoter and resource developer, Robert Friedland to change name of Ivanplats (IVP:TSX) back to his favorite resource company name, Ivanhoe Mines. The name change will take effect September 3, 2013 and will trade on the TSX under the symbol “IVN”.
"The original Ivanhoe Mines and its predecessor company, Indochina Goldfields, earned international recognition and respect over almost 20 years due in large part to the successes of its exploration and development teams, crowned by the discovery of Oyu Tolgoi's copper and gold resources over several years beginning in 2001 and the construction of the mine," said Executive Chairman, Robert Friedland.
The original Ivanhoe was formed in 1999 out of Friedland’s private venture capital and project finance firm, Ivanhoe Capital. After Rio Tinto took control of the Oyu Tolgoi project in 2010, Friedland retained the right to the name.
"As our company continues to advance our diverse, principal projects, we believe this is the right time to make the transition to a corporate identity that more broadly reflects the fact that Ivanplats has grown and evolved in recent years to become much more than a singularly focused platinum group metals company," add Mr. Friedland
Ivanplats has been working in Africa for over 19 years as a private entity. Friedland and his team were able to assemble a stable of world-class resource assets including the massive high-grade copper project, Kamoa in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Platreef platinum deposit in South Africa.
Mr. Friedland continues, "we believe the discoveries that Ivanplats has made so far at Kamoa in the DRC and at Platreef in South Africa have the potential to be as significant, perhaps even more so, than Oyu Tolgoi. Our decision to reintroduce the Ivanhoe Mines name to the mining and investment communities better reflects our multicommodity mine development portfolio. After 19 years of company-building experience in Africa, this is an appropriate time for Ivanplats to assume the Ivanhoe Mines mantle as we continue the fulfilment both of the company's potential and its commitments to all of its stakeholders -- and our pursuit of opportunities across new horizons.”
News Release here: Ivanplats Changes its Name to Ivanhoe Mines