New focus Down Under

摘要

Enigmatic mining entrepreneur Robert Friedland and his company Ivanhoe Mines Ltd have refocused some of their attention on Australia to chase what they believe is a "candidate on a global scale for the next world scale discovery". At least that's how Friedland described the company's Amethyst Castle copper-gold-uranium play in Queensland's Mt Isa district at the recent Asia Mining Congress in Singapore. Located seven kilometers north-north west of the former Selwyn Mill, the project's iron oxide-copper gold mineralisation has already been compared to BHP Billiton Ltd's polymetallic Olympic Dam mine in South Australia. In mid April the Canadian-based resources house announced its wholly-owned subsidiary - Ivanhoe Cloncurry Mines Pty Ltd - would begin drilling at both the Amethyst Castle and Three Amigos (also copper, gold and uranium) targets following the completion of high-resolution ground magnetics and magnetometric resistivity surveys over a 2.5 km by 2 km grid as well as a dipole-dipole induced polarisation survey over a 1.5 km by 1 km grid within the prospect area.