source: Mining Weekly, Reuters

Rio Tinto PLC raised its stake in Canada's Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., the 66 percent interest holder in the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold project, to a majority stake but said it had not current plans to buy more shares. The move came after Ivanhoe Mines scrapped the shareholder rights plan that prevented Rio Tinto from gaining control of the company.

In December, an arbitrator invalidated the so-called “poison pill,” which Ivanhoe could have used to force the Anglo-Australian company to pay more for control. It was no secret that Rio Tinto covets the Oyu Tolgoi asset and wanted to gain control of it. This was called an opportune for Rio Tinto to make its move, as the risk for the deal dissipates as the mine nears production. Ivanhoe Mines' share prices have also fallen, along with most other commodity stocks amidst European economic frets. The stock stood at CAD 19.11 a piece last week—well below its CAD 28.92 a share 52-week high.

Rio Tinto, scarred by the costly takeover of aluminum giant Alcan at the height of the commodities boom, is not expected to move aggressively on Ivanhoe Mines.

The mine is 70 percent complete, and Ivanhoe Mines plans for it to be in commercial production in the first half of 2013. It is expected to produce more than 1.2 billion pounds of copper and 650,000 ounces of gold a year, in the first ten years of operation, with the mine producing 1.7 billion pounds of copper and one million ounces of gold at its peak, in year seven.