Ivanhoe Mines: Licence release date approved

THE DEPARTMENT of Mineral Resources gave Ivanhoe Mines a final approval date for its mining licence after the Canadian company’s local unit started a process that might lead to job losses at the platinum project. A May 30 letter granting the unit a mining right “contained clear conditions to be met prior to execution of the right”, the department said on Wednesday. The right’s execution is a notary step, paving the way for Ivanplats to start building its mine. Last week Ivanplats started a process that might lead to 325 jobs being cut, because it said it didn’t have an indication of when the right would be executed. – Bloomberg