Colorful dealmaker Robert Friedland is seeking new options for his current venture, Ivanhoe Mines, as it starts building a massive copper-gold mine near Mongolia“s border with resource-hungry China. The company, which has partnered with mining giant Rio Tinto in Mongolia, has hired bankers to look at possibilities “to further enhance shareholder value”. That might include offering new shares or bonds, borrowing money or selling a subsidiary, as well as “various corporate transactions”. The company stressed that no specific deal was under consideration.

Analysts were reluctant to speculate on whether the statement meant that Ivanhoe could go on the block, but one analyst said the language of the statement left the door open for a sale. A source close to the Vancouver-based company also did not rule out the possibility of a sale, saying all options were possible.

“With the excellent progress that now is being made on moving the Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold project toward production, and with the strong performance of our SouthGobi Energy coal subsidiary in Mongolia … this is the right time to explore options,” Friedland, Ivanhoe”s chairman, said in the statement.