Rio Tinto's stake in Ivanhoe Mines remains at about 51 per cent after a rights offering by the Toronto-listed company to fund the construction of the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine in Mongolia.
Rio Tinto said Monday it acquired roughly 133.6 million shares under Ivanhoe's rights offering at a total cost of $935-million (U.S.) or $7 per share.
The miner had agreed to a stand-by deal that could have potentially seen it increase its stake in Ivanhoe to about 62 per cent.
Rio Tinto tightened its control over Ivanhoe earlier this year as part of a financing agreement including the $1.8-billion (U.S.) rights offering.
Ivanhoe owns two-thirds of the Oyu Tolgoi project, while the Mongolian government owns the remaining third.
In addition to Oyu Tolgoi, Ivanhoe owns 50 per cent of Altynalmas Gold, which holds the Kyzyl Gold project and ownership of a division in Australia that is focused on the Mount Isa-Cloncurry and Tennant Creek districts.
Ivanhoe has signed a deal to sell its controlling stake in Mongolian coal miner SouthGobi Resources Ltd. to Aluminum Corporation of China Ltd., a Chinese state-operated metals producer also known as Chalco.