Ivanhoe delays ASX IPO

Ivanhoe Atlantic has pushed back its mid-year initial public offering (IPO) target and is now aiming to launch its IPO in Australia before the end of 2025.

Privately-owned US-based Ivanhoe is looking to develop the Kon Kweni high-grade iron-ore deposit in Guinea, West Africa, to provide a supply of high-grade iron ore that can be readily processed in Middle East into low emissions steel that can feed a US supply chain.

At the WA Mining Club August luncheon, Ivanhoe Atlantic president and chief executive Bronwyn Barnes attributed the delay to necessary upgrades to the country’s railway infrastructure to support the project.

“[We’ve] still got to get ratification of [the] rail and port access agreement…that’s one of the key hurdles that I see about unlocking the timing for the IPO,” she said.

Kon Kweni, previously owned by BHP (ASX: BHP) and known as Nimba, boasts a 750mtpa resource, with more than 200mt at a grade of 67.5% of iron. Ivanhoe is aiming to commence production at the deposit, located about 160km from Rio Tinto’s (ASX: RIO) Simandou iron ore mine, by 2027.

Ms Barnes said the company is interested in assets beyond Kon Kweni — assets that sit on the critical minerals supply list for the US, in jurisdictions that are allies to the US.

“This is another whole level of critical thinking that I don’t think historically as mining companies we’ve had to do,” Ms Barnes said.

“We don’t play mining, we play geopolitics.”

With escalating trade tensions between the US and China, the country that currently dominates the global steel market, the US is prioritising supply chain diversification.

“I don’t think as Australia, we’ve quite understood the level of seriousness in Washington about securing the critical mineral supply chain in the US,” Ms Barnes said.

“I think what’s important to them now is they want to see onshore processing in the US. What they’re really interested in is where is the finished product going to be made and securing the supply chain in the US.”