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Robert Friedland, Executive Chairman of Ivanhoe Mines.Rafal Gerszak/The Globe and Mail

Ivanplats Ltd. is going public just as a rebound is apparently beginning for metals and mining stocks, but the Robert Friedland-backed company is worth far less than it was in the spring of 2011 when rumours of an initial public offering circulated.

The company on Tuesday filed for an IPO on the Toronto Stock Exchange. A valuation and size for the initial public offering weren't disclosed.

At the moment, based on grey market trading, the company is worth about $850-million. Pre-IPO stock of Ivanplats has been trading recently at $2 a share, said one person who tracks the grey market. With about 423 million shares outstanding, according to the filing, that puts the value of the company at almost $850-million.

That's well under where the stock was in spring of 2011, when it rose to more than $4 a share. The stock had been trading in the $2 to $2.50 range, then soared to $4 on speculation of an IPO. Of course, that offering never happened.

Ivanplats is hardly alone. Shares of metals and mining stocks have been hammered. The Standard & Poor's/TSX Capped Diversified Metals and Mining Index is down more than a third from its early 2011 highs.

Ivanplats is expected to sell at least $300-million of stock, said one person familiar with the company's plans this time. At the current valuation, that would equate to about one-third of the company.

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