Much the same from DU But first, The Australian Financial Review's Chanticleer columnist, Michael Smith, says relations between Rio Tinto and Ivanhoe Mines are under pressure once again, following the release of some gloomy cost estimates for the reluctant partners’
"The problem for investors trying to determine the reliability of these latest forecasts is that Rio Tinto and the company building the project, Oyu Tolgoi LLC, have not signed off on the report. This is despite the fact that Rio owns 51 per cent of Ivanhoe, which released the assessment. While they have not publicly disputed the figures, it is clear Rio is not happy, particularly after the release of a report it never signed off on wiped almost 8 per cent off Ivanhoe’s shares in Toronto last week. It is understood Rio was given a narrow window to comment on the draft report. While Ivanhoe did take some of Rio’s comments on board, it did not send the final report to Rio or the Oyu Tolgoi LLC board for final approval. Rio understandably wants to complete its own assessment of the assumptions made in the technical report."