CanadaÔÇÖs Ivanhoe Mines has announced it is in talks with potential investors for its gold property in Kazakhstan. Vancouver-based Ivanhoe has increased its stake in Altynalmas Gold, which owns 100 percent of the Kyzyl gold project, to 50 percent from 49 percent, as it works towards bringing the project into commercial production. Ivanhoe has said it is in discussions with potential strategic investors, including established gold industry players and sovereign wealth funds that have expressed an interest in the development of Kyzyl. Located approximately 100 kilometres south-west of Ust-Kamenogorsk, the industrial centre of east Kazakhstan, the Kyzyl project contains the Bakyrchik depositÔÇöone of the world's highest-grade and largest undeveloped gold systemsÔÇöand the nearby Bolshevik gold deposit. The surrounding area is well known for its deposits of gold, uranium, copper, aluminum, silver, natural gas and oil. The project, which consists of a series of mineralized lodes, lying within a 15 kilometer long shear zone, is served by an established railway and an electricity grid, and also has significant existing underground workings, shafts and minesite infrastructure, the company said. A drilling program is underway to support an updated, independent resource estimate and feasibility studies to secure project financing. Speaking yesterday at the sixth annual Asia Mining Congress, Robert Friedland, executive chairman of Ivanhoe Mines, reaffirmed the companyÔÇÖs commitment to bringing Kyzyl into commercial production as soon as possible. He said: ÔÇ£The commitment to develop a public, pure gold company advances our stated objective of realizing full value for our shareholders from the principal assets in our portfolio of development-ready projects. "With this consolidated ownership in Altynalmas Gold, we now are positioned to rapidly complete a pre-feasibility study and move ahead with the full feasibility study to ensure that the Kyzyl Project stays on a direct track to become one of Central Asia's leading gold producers." Friedland said Ivanhoe Mines has gained valuable experience during the past two years through its success with two other listed subsidiaries: the Cloncurry Project's mining assets in Australia and the coal deposits in southern Mongolia. He said that both subsidiaries received overwhelming investor support through initial public offerings and are now strong, well-financed, self-sustaining mining and exploration companies. The company's other core assets are its 65 percent interest in Mongolian coal miner SouthGobi Energy Resources and its 81 percent interest in Ivanhoe Australia, a copper-gold-uranium-molybdenum-rhenium exploration and development company. Friedland first partnered with the Kazakh government in the 1990s, when his Indochina Goldfields entered into agreement and understandings with four major shareholders of Bakyrchik Gold.