Robert Friedland, chairman and cofounder of Ivanhoe Mines, speaks during the Denver Gold Forum (DGF) … [+]
Matthew Staver/Bloomberg
Billionaire Robert Friedland plans to list his Ivanhoe Electric Inc. in New York and Toronto as the mining tycoon aims to bankroll the development of copper mines in the U.S. that will supply raw materials needed to build batteries for electric cars as well as large-scale energy storage facilities.
The initial public offering of Ivanhoe Electric—which holds stakes in the Santa Cruz Copper Project in Arizona and the Tintic Copper-Gold Project in Utah—will be managed by BMO Capital Markets and Jefferies, according to a regulatory filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday. While IPO details weren’t disclosed, the company is expected to raise $200 million, according to Renaissance Capital.
Led by Friedland as CEO, the company also owns VRB Energy, a developer of large-scale energy storage systems that could power cities and industries. VRB has about 500 megawatt hours of energy generating capacity that have been installed or under development, according to the IPO prospectus.
“We believe it is strategically important for the U.S. to develop its own resource base to match the domestic and global needs of the clean energy transition through adequate supply of critical minerals,” Ivanhoe Electric said in the prospectus. “One of our primary objectives is to be part of this process, helping to build out a domestic U.S. supply of such critical minerals.”
Developing copper mines in the U.S. is crucial as the price of the metal surges amid increasing demand from China, Europe and North America. “As demand for critical materials strengthens globally, we believe securing additional sources of supply for these commodities will grow in importance for the U.S.,” Ivanhoe Electric said.
Based in Singapore, Friedland, 71, is the founder and chairman of Toronto-listed Ivanhoe Mines, a leader in the mining and precious metals industry. He is credited for finding profitable mines in remote areas such as Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia. Friedland has a net worth of $2.1 billion, according to Forbes’ real-time data.
