Canadian mining company Ivanhoe Mines has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Qatar's sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). The MoU sets out a framework for collaboration to support Ivanhoe’s efforts to find, develop and sustainably supply the critical minerals essential to the global energy transition and the development of advanced technologies.

The signing of the MoU, which coincided with a visit last week by the Amir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where he met with that country's President Félix Tshisekedi to discuss friendly bilateral relations between the two countries, follows the QIA’s $500-million strategic investment into Ivanhoe Mines, as announced in September.

“The signing of the MoU, together with the strategic investment by the QIA, is a strong vote of confidence in Ivanhoe Mines’ mission to supply the strategic metals that power global electrification and the rise of AI and large-scale data centres. We are excited to build this long-term, world-class alliance as we unlock new frontiers in our hunt for the next generation of great discoveries, which we will sustainably mine together,” comments Ivanhoe co-chairperson Robert Friedland.

“This MoU is a testament of the QIA’s commitment to building strategic partnerships with leading suppliers of critical minerals, supporting global efforts to develop new energy infrastructure and power advanced technologies. We are delighted to be working with Ivanhoe Mines and look forward to further growing our partnership, aimed at generating long-term, sustainable prosperity,” adds QIA CEO Mohammed Saif Al-Sowaidi.

As part of the MoU, the QIA has committed to support Ivanhoe's management team in its pursuit of existing and new growth projects, such as exploration work under way to develop the world-class Western Forelands exploration project in the DRC, including the Makoko district.

Ivanhoe and QIA also intend to collaborate in good faith to identify and explore future partnerships and opportunities to work together in geographical areas of interest on mining projects at all phases of development. This may include collaboration in terms of investment or financing of such projects.

Further, Ivanhoe and the QIA may collaborate in terms of using the QIA’s extensive network to provide access to financial institutions for preferential financing of critical minerals projects in Africa and elsewhere; collaborate on potential future strategic mergers and acquisitions; collaborate on potential infrastructure related to critical minerals projects, including logistics, power and water; and collaborate on the development of downstream smelting or refining capacity for critical minerals.

Ivanhoe's principal operations are the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the DRC, the ultrahigh-grade Kipushi zinc/copper/germanium/silver mine, also in the DRC; and the Tier 1 Platreef platinum/palladium/nickel/rhodium/gold/copper mine in South Africa, which started operations last week.

Ivanhoe is also exploring for copper in the Western Forelands licences, in the DRC, covering an area over six times larger than the adjacent Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex, as well as for new sedimentary copper discoveries in Angola, Kazakhstan and Zambia.