Mr Robert Friedland chairman and Mr Peter Reeve chief executive officer of Ivanhoe Australia Limited announced the receipt of the AUD 30.1 million distribution from Exco Resources Limited.

The distribution, comprised of a capital return and special dividend, follows the finalization of the sale of Exco's Cloncurry Copper Project to Xstrata.

Mr Reeve said that "This extra funding places us in a solid position in the lead-up to initial production of copper and gold from our Osborne operation this March, increasing our cash balance including the Exco distribution to AUD 166 million as at December 31st 2011.”

In total, Ivanhoe Australia has invested approximately AUD 31 million during the past four and a half years in Exco shares and exploration work on the Ivanhoe Australia/Exco joint venture tenements. This investment has resulted in Ivanhoe Australia's current holding of 22.6% of Exco, an 80% interest in the joint venture tenements and the receipt of the distribution in December.