The miner has also scrapped its 2017 dividend after full-year core earnings fell by more than a third because of a ban on unprocessed mineral exports in Tanzania.
The U.S. Forest Service signed off on exploration for copper, gold and other minerals on 900 federal acres that lie just outside the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument in Southwest Washington.
Mining is a long-term game, but in southern Africa dramatic political changes have transformed the investment mood for the better in the space of a year.
Robert Friedland, founder and executive chairman of Ivanhoe Mines, said he would be happy to pay higher taxes if there is stability in Congo's rules and transparency in the accounting of those royalties.
"Keep an eye on what we call China’s old economy – the property market, the infrastructure segment. That’s where we expect a slowdown sometime this year.”
DRC tried to strike more conciliatory tone after week of heated exchanges between Africa’s top copper producer and some of its largest foreign investors.
