Aug 29 (Reuters) - Canadian copper miner Ivanhoe Mines Ltd IVN.TO said on Monday that companies from Asia, Europe, Africa and elsewhere had expressed interest in the company and its projects in recent months.
Ivanhoe Mines said it would hire an investment bank to seek advice on the unsolicited interest and to advise its board on all available alternatives. miner, which had a market value of about C$1.30 billion (nearly $1 billion) as of Friday's close, did not name the companies or provide any other details on the expressions of interest.
Ivanhoe Mines said it is giving investors and banking analysts tours of its projects, including of the Kakula Discovery - a high-grade copper discovery in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Kakula Discovery is part of Ivanhoe's Kamoa Copper Project, which is thought to be the world's largest untouched high-grade copper discovery.
Ivanhoe Mines said in October it expects production at the Kamoa project to begin by the end of 2018. ($1 = C$1.3019)