*

Qatar invests $500 million in Ivanhoe Mines ( IVPAF ) for critical

minerals

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Ivanhoe Mines ( IVPAF ) seeks investments from sovereign wealth

funds, not

hedge funds

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Friedland highlights risks and opportunities in global

critical

minerals rush

By Ernest Scheyder

Sept 17 (Reuters) - Ivanhoe Mines ( IVPAF ) is in

constant dialogue with sovereign wealth funds for potential

investments aimed at supporting the company's push to boost

production of copper and other critical minerals, Co-Chairman

Robert Friedland told Reuters on Wednesday.

Vancouver-based Ivanhoe said earlier on Wednesday that

Qatar's sovereign wealth fund would invest $500 million as part

of what Qatari officials said is a goal of "finding, developing,

and sustainably supplying the critical minerals essential to

global energy transition and advanced technology applications."

Ivanhoe has operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo

and South Africa, with exploration projects underway in Angola.

Friedland, Ivanhoe's third-largest shareholder, cited an

interest in growing elsewhere in Africa and parts of Asia.

Friedland said Qatar's investment opens doors, especially in

predominantly Islamic countries where he believes there are

large, untapped mineral deposits. Roughly 65% of Qatar's

population is Muslim and much of the country's wealth comes from

natural gas production.

Ivanhoe, which counts two Chinese companies as its largest

investors, has been among the more prominent users of advanced

imaging, artificial intelligence and other high-tech methods to

better find geological deposits.

Asked if Ivanhoe is in talks with other potential investors,

Friedland said: "We're in constant dialogue with sovereign

partners. They always want more. We have ambitions to grow

Ivanhoe Mines ( IVPAF ) into a world-leading mining organization."

Friedland declined to share details, but added that Ivanhoe

was not interested in partnering with hedge funds.

"We are kind of allergic to hedge funds named after Greek

gods," he said, without naming specific investors. "Their

investment horizon is sometimes measured in a millionth of a

second."

He characterized the global rush for critical minerals and

the potential to find new deposits as similar to the western

U.S. mining rush of the late 19th century. "In my 40 years in

the industry, I've never seen so much interest in critical raw

materials," he said.

Ivanhoe is intrigued about developing titanium projects in

Ukraine, he said, but not while the country is in conflict with

Russia. The company has no interest in deep-sea mining projects,

he added.

Friedland is also the largest investor in Sunrise Energy

Metals ( SREMF ), which said on Tuesday it is under consideration

for potential funding from the U.S. Export-Import Bank for its

Australian scandium project.