Ivanhoe (NYSE:IVN) Approved for Osborne Acquisition from Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX)

Ivanhoe (NYSE:IVN) has been approved by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) of Australia to acquire the Osborne copper and gold project in Queensland, owned by Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:ABX).

Approval from the FIRB was required because Ivanhoe has an 81 percent stake in Ivanhoe Australia.

Other than approval from the FIRB, the remaining condition to complete the deal would be approval to transfer an exploration permit, which is part of the deal. Ivanhoe Australia is deciding on whether or not to waive that condition.

Also in the Cloncurry region, where Osborne is located is Merline, a high-grade molybdenum and rhenium mine, which CEO Peter Reeve said lower capital costs to develop that mine with the acquisition of the new mine.

Ivanhoe was at $14.50 a share in New York, as of 1:13 PM EDT, a $0.50 gain, or 3.43 percent upward move.

Barrick was slightly down in New York, to $43.46, losing $0.10, or 0.25 percent.