TORONTO, ONTARIO, Sep 03, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- Khan Resources Inc. (CA:KRI: news, chart, profile) announced that it will allow its offer to acquire the outstanding common shares of Western Prospector Group Ltd. to expire today and will not acquire any shares of Western Prospector pursuant to the offer.
On May 11, 2008, Khan announced its offer to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Western Prospector in order to consolidate its position in the Saddle Hills district of Mongolia and achieve significant synergies from the joint development of Khan's Dornod uranium deposit and Western Prospector's Gurvanbulag uranium deposit in that district.
Khan extended its offer on a number of occasions while monitoring developments relating to certain legal issues in respect of the cash offer announced by Tinpo Holdings Industrial Company Limited on July 15, 2008. Khan now believes that the Tinpo offer will proceed.
Martin Quick, CEO of Khan Resources, commented, "We have fully evaluated Western Prospector and determined that it is not a prudent use of management time and shareholder resources to continue to pursue our consolidation strategy". Mr. Quick continued, "The $1.34 per Western Prospector share offered by Tinpo recognizes the value of uranium in the Saddle Hills region and demonstrates that Khan's own shares and superior deposit at Dornod are seriously undervalued by the market. Given these two facts, our Board concluded that it is simply not in the best interests of the Khan shareholders to entertain a competing offer which would have the inevitable effect of giving Western Prospector shareholders more than half of the combined company when only contributing 32% of its resources."
Khan will continue its development of the Dornod project as a standalone project. Mr. Quick commented, "The Government of Mongolia now enjoys a clear majority and has a mandate to make decisions about its mineral resources. We are excited to move our world class uranium project forward in this improved political climate and to take the next steps to bring the Dornod project into production."
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements, which are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in such statements, and there is no assurance that actual results will be consistent with them. These factors are discussed in greater detail in Khan Resources' most recent Annual Information Form and its offer and circular dated May 12, 2008 relating to the Offer, copies of which may be obtained on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Such forward-looking statements are made as at the date of this news release, and Khan Resources assumes no obligation to update or revise them, either publicly or otherwise, to reflect new events, information or circumstances, except as may be required under applicable securities law.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
China Huaneng builds 3.6 GW Inner Mongolia coal plant
3 September 2008 - China Huaneng Group, one of the country's five biggest power generation companies, is working on a 3.6 GW coal fired power station in the northern region of Inner Mongolia along with several other companies.
The plant in Hulunbeier, or Hulun Buir, in the coal-rich region has commenced construction. It is predicted to start operation of three units in 2009 and another three in 2010, disclosed an official with the Hulunbeier branch of the National Development and Reform Commission.
As planned, Huaneng Group will be responsible for construction of two 600 MW units, while Beijing Deyuan Investment will take charge of two more, and so will Beijing Guohua Electric Power under the wing of China Shenhua Energy.
The whole project will have a total investment of 16.399bn yuan ($2.39bn), including 11.166bn yuan in power plants and 5.233bn yuan in supporting coal mining operations.
The units are designed to generate electricity of approximately 21.6bn kW a year. They will send all its electricity to Shenyang, capital of the northeastern province of Liaoning via a 500 kV direct current power transmission line, which will extend as long as 965 km and cost 6.451bn yuan.
The Hulunbeier branch of Huaneng Group is also building a thermal power plant in Manzhouli in northern Hulunbeier along with Shenzhen Energy Group Co with a total investment of 2.1bn yuan.
The 400 MW plant is scheduled to start to run the first generation set in September 2009 and the second set three months later. At present, its main bodies, such as boiler rooms, electric dust catcher infrastructure, cooling towers, are under construction.
It will build two homemade 200 MW coal fired direct air-cooling heat & power combined-production generation sets, which need water of about 2.1m cubic meters and coal of around 1.8m tonnes each year.
Moreover, it will install a flue gas desulfurization (FGD) unit and associated heat supply network. After completed, it will generate electricity of 2bn kWh.
The plant in Hulunbeier, or Hulun Buir, in the coal-rich region has commenced construction. It is predicted to start operation of three units in 2009 and another three in 2010, disclosed an official with the Hulunbeier branch of the National Development and Reform Commission.
As planned, Huaneng Group will be responsible for construction of two 600 MW units, while Beijing Deyuan Investment will take charge of two more, and so will Beijing Guohua Electric Power under the wing of China Shenhua Energy.
The whole project will have a total investment of 16.399bn yuan ($2.39bn), including 11.166bn yuan in power plants and 5.233bn yuan in supporting coal mining operations.
The units are designed to generate electricity of approximately 21.6bn kW a year. They will send all its electricity to Shenyang, capital of the northeastern province of Liaoning via a 500 kV direct current power transmission line, which will extend as long as 965 km and cost 6.451bn yuan.
The Hulunbeier branch of Huaneng Group is also building a thermal power plant in Manzhouli in northern Hulunbeier along with Shenzhen Energy Group Co with a total investment of 2.1bn yuan.
The 400 MW plant is scheduled to start to run the first generation set in September 2009 and the second set three months later. At present, its main bodies, such as boiler rooms, electric dust catcher infrastructure, cooling towers, are under construction.
It will build two homemade 200 MW coal fired direct air-cooling heat & power combined-production generation sets, which need water of about 2.1m cubic meters and coal of around 1.8m tonnes each year.
Moreover, it will install a flue gas desulfurization (FGD) unit and associated heat supply network. After completed, it will generate electricity of 2bn kWh.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Canadian miners see bright future in Mongolia
OYU TOLGOI, Mongolia (AFP) — At a remote outpost in the Gobi Desert, hundreds of kilometres from any paved road, Keith Marshall is poring over satellite images, geological surveys and sheets of statistics, literally mapping out Mongolia's economic future.
Working out of a wind-lashed military-style tent dubbed the "Weather Haven", the British engineer is laying the groundwork for what he says will be one of the biggest copper mines in the world.
Oyu Tolgoi, or Turquoise Hill, will have the capacity to churn out a million tonnes of copper each year, as well as gold, a potentially big boost to this impoverished country's economy, which still relies heavily on Soviet-era infrastructure and donor aid money.
Sandwiched between Russia and China, Mongolia has a population of just 2.7 million people spread over an area more than double the size of France. The average salary is just 200 dollars a month.
"Oyu Tolgoi is going to bring dividends to the Mongolian people for four or five generations to come," said Marshall, managing director of Ivanhoe Mines Mongolia, the Canadian company that owns the exploration license for the site.
Shafts will be sunk to 1,300 metres (4,200 feet) and a two-kilometre (1.2-mile) wide pit will be excavated.
The copper concentrate will be shipped to neighbouring China and eventually find its way into cell phones, laptop computers and cars around the world.
But Oyu Tolgoi has been the subject of much controversy and has yet to win final government approval, with the issue stirring vigorous debate from nomad camps in the Gobi to the streets of Ulan Bator and the halls of parliament.
A final contract between the government and Ivanhoe has been held up several times by angry street protests, as citizens have demanded a greater percentage of the profits.
Members of parliament have revisited the issue dozens of times but have yet to find a balance with Ivanhoe, although the protests have subsided.
In a compromise, Ivanhoe agreed to give the government a 34 percent stake in the project, which Marshall estimates will require between six and 10 billion dollars of investment to make fully operational.
The government has since indicated it wants a 51 percent share, while critics also point to other problems.
"No one in Mongolia has the experience to handle such a huge mine, not the people nor the government," said Sainkhuugiin Ganbaatar, president of the Mongolian Trade Union and onetime leader of the street protests.
"So we must not rush into a deal with a foreign mining company until we fully understand what is at stake."
Ganbaatar, regarded as a non-partisan voice in Mongolia's often intense brand of democracy, is demanding a full appraisal of the mine from an independent body that has no affiliation with Mongolia or its government.
As time passes, however, the mining company has grown increasingly restless.
"The project has reached a stage of development where we can't do much more work without an agreement. We have had to scale down operations, which means laying off workers and letting projects sit idle," said Marshall.
But investor confidence remains strong.
Rio Tinto recently bought a 9.9 percent stake in Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. and has an option to go up to 46 percent within five years after an investment agreement is signed with the Mongolian government.
Recent elections that gave the ruling Mongolia People's Revolutionary Party a clear majority in parliament following four years of an uneasy coalition have given Ivanhoe further hope that a deal can be done by the end of the year.
If work starts soon, Marshall expects to see profits start pouring in by 2013.
In the meantime, the 500 workers at Oyu Tolgoi keep the project going.
An exploratory shaft has been sunk to almost 1,400 metres and a mixed team of expatriate and Mongolian miners are now drifting laterally towards the main body of ore, nicknamed Hugo Dummett.
Hugo will keep the miners busy for 30 years or so, after which they can tap the nearby Heruga deposit, big enough to give the project another 20 years of life.
The mine is expected to employ 5,000 people, with thousands more coming to fill out of the supply chain expected to grow around the mine.
Working out of a wind-lashed military-style tent dubbed the "Weather Haven", the British engineer is laying the groundwork for what he says will be one of the biggest copper mines in the world.
Oyu Tolgoi, or Turquoise Hill, will have the capacity to churn out a million tonnes of copper each year, as well as gold, a potentially big boost to this impoverished country's economy, which still relies heavily on Soviet-era infrastructure and donor aid money.
Sandwiched between Russia and China, Mongolia has a population of just 2.7 million people spread over an area more than double the size of France. The average salary is just 200 dollars a month.
"Oyu Tolgoi is going to bring dividends to the Mongolian people for four or five generations to come," said Marshall, managing director of Ivanhoe Mines Mongolia, the Canadian company that owns the exploration license for the site.
Shafts will be sunk to 1,300 metres (4,200 feet) and a two-kilometre (1.2-mile) wide pit will be excavated.
The copper concentrate will be shipped to neighbouring China and eventually find its way into cell phones, laptop computers and cars around the world.
But Oyu Tolgoi has been the subject of much controversy and has yet to win final government approval, with the issue stirring vigorous debate from nomad camps in the Gobi to the streets of Ulan Bator and the halls of parliament.
A final contract between the government and Ivanhoe has been held up several times by angry street protests, as citizens have demanded a greater percentage of the profits.
Members of parliament have revisited the issue dozens of times but have yet to find a balance with Ivanhoe, although the protests have subsided.
In a compromise, Ivanhoe agreed to give the government a 34 percent stake in the project, which Marshall estimates will require between six and 10 billion dollars of investment to make fully operational.
The government has since indicated it wants a 51 percent share, while critics also point to other problems.
"No one in Mongolia has the experience to handle such a huge mine, not the people nor the government," said Sainkhuugiin Ganbaatar, president of the Mongolian Trade Union and onetime leader of the street protests.
"So we must not rush into a deal with a foreign mining company until we fully understand what is at stake."
Ganbaatar, regarded as a non-partisan voice in Mongolia's often intense brand of democracy, is demanding a full appraisal of the mine from an independent body that has no affiliation with Mongolia or its government.
As time passes, however, the mining company has grown increasingly restless.
"The project has reached a stage of development where we can't do much more work without an agreement. We have had to scale down operations, which means laying off workers and letting projects sit idle," said Marshall.
But investor confidence remains strong.
Rio Tinto recently bought a 9.9 percent stake in Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. and has an option to go up to 46 percent within five years after an investment agreement is signed with the Mongolian government.
Recent elections that gave the ruling Mongolia People's Revolutionary Party a clear majority in parliament following four years of an uneasy coalition have given Ivanhoe further hope that a deal can be done by the end of the year.
If work starts soon, Marshall expects to see profits start pouring in by 2013.
In the meantime, the 500 workers at Oyu Tolgoi keep the project going.
An exploratory shaft has been sunk to almost 1,400 metres and a mixed team of expatriate and Mongolian miners are now drifting laterally towards the main body of ore, nicknamed Hugo Dummett.
Hugo will keep the miners busy for 30 years or so, after which they can tap the nearby Heruga deposit, big enough to give the project another 20 years of life.
The mine is expected to employ 5,000 people, with thousands more coming to fill out of the supply chain expected to grow around the mine.
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