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Entrée Gold Interests Included in Oyu Tolgoi Investment Agreement
Entrée Gold Interests Included in Oyu Tolgoi Investment Agreement
About this update from Entree Resources Ltd
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\nOct. 16, 2009 (Canada NewsWire Group) -- VANCOUVER, Oct. 16 /CNW/ -- Entrée Gold Inc. (TSX:ETG; NYSE Amex:EGI; Frankfurt:EKA - \"Entrée\" or the \"Company\") has reviewed the Investment Agreement that was signed between Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (TSX: IVN; NYSE: IVN; NASDAQ: IVN - \"Ivanhoe Mines\"), its subsidiary, Ivanhoe Mines Mongolia Inc. LLC (\"IMMI\"), our largest shareholder Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP; LSE: RIO.L; ASX: RIO.AX) and the Mongolian government on October 06, 2009 and filed October 14, 2009 on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).Several key issues pertaining to the Investment Agreement have specific and beneficial impacts for Entrée and its shareholders:- This Investment Agreement provides long term stability for the OyuTolgoi project and enables the companies involved to operate withinparameters that have been approved by the government of Mongolia- This agreement paves the way for finalizing feasibility, developmentand mining studies of the many Oyu Tolgoi deposits, includingEntrée's Hugo North Extension and Heruga deposits- Greater certainty is afforded to all stakeholders, with the agreementproviding fiscal stability and reliable access to water, power,transportation and labour throughout the term- The Entrée-Ivanhoe Mines exploration licences (Shivee Tolgoi andJavhlant) which are subject to the joint venture are contained withinthe Contract Area covered by the Investment Agreement- The conversion of the joint venture licences from mineral explorationlicences to mining licences is a condition precedent to theInvestment AgreementThe Investment Agreement has an initial term of 30 years with the option to renew for an additional 20 years. Ivanhoe Mines is currently working on an updated Integrated Development Plan which will expand upon the original plan issued in 2005 and further clarify the next phases of development and eventual mining that is anticipated to begin in 2013. Current resources are expected to support open-pit and underground mining for at least 60 years and potential exists to expand the available resources, particularly on the Lookout Hill property which includes the joint venture ground.With the inclusion of the Mongolian Government as a partner and Rio Tinto's recent endorsement of the project through the advanced settlement of the Tranche 2 private placement financing, strong suppor...