Press Release dated October 3, 2007 - Cloncurry
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549
FORM 6-K
REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER
PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16 OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
From: October 3, 2007
IVANHOE MINES LTD.
(Translation of Registrants Name into English)
Suite 654
999 CANADA PLACE, VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA V6C 3E1
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)
(Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of
Form 20-F or Form 40-F.)
(Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information contained in this form
is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934.)
(If Yes is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant in connection with
Rule 12g3-2(b): 82- .)
Enclosed:
Press Release
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused
this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
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IVANHOE MINES LTD.
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Date: October 3, 2007 |
By: |
/s/ Beverly A. Bartlett
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BEVERLY A. BARTLETT |
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Vice President &
Corporate Secretary |
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High-Grade Copper and Gold Mineralized Zone Discovered
at Ivanhoes Cloncurry Project in Australia
SWAN Copper-Gold-Uranium Discovery Significantly Expands
with Six Drill Rigs at Work
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA Robert Friedland, Executive Chairman of Ivanhoe Mines, and Douglas
Kirwin, Ivanhoe Mines Executive Vice-President, Exploration, announced today that continued
exploration drilling at the companys Cloncurry Project in the Mt. Isa District of northwestern
Queensland, has resulted in the discovery of a significant high-grade zone of copper and gold
mineralization on the western margin of the large, open-ended SWAN Iron Oxide Copper Gold (IOCG)
Project.
In January, 2007, Ivanhoe announced the discovery of a series of IOCG systems with associated
uranium, one of which is the SWAN Project, at the companys 2,400-square-kilometre Cloncurry
Project. Further exploration of the SWAN system has resulted in a substantial expansion of the
deposits mineralized zone.
Drill hole MEHQ07 1130 on the western margin of the SWAN system intersected 90 metres
grading 2.02% copper and 1.3 g/t gold from 582 metres to 672 metres, including 54 metres grading
approximately 3.04% copper and 1.89 g/t gold. The intersection is missing a 3.5-metre section of
high-grade core resulting from loss during drilling of the very friable composition of the intense
chalcopyrite-rich mineralization. As such, this zone is currently being re-drilled and recovery
improved by using a triple-tube core-barrel to preserve the entire high-grade intercept. Additional
drilling will define the attitude and dip of the high-grade zone and also the true thicknesses of
the drill intersections.
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Hole # |
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From |
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To |
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Interval |
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Cu % |
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Au g/t |
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MEHQ071130 |
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582 |
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587.5 |
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5.5 |
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6.39 |
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7.58 |
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MEHQ071130 |
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587.5 |
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590.8 |
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Friable Lost Core |
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MEHQ071130 |
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590.8 |
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672 |
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81.2 |
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1.71 |
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0.90 |
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including |
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590.8 |
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604 |
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13.2 |
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6.57 |
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2.70 |
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including |
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590.8 |
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636 |
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45.2 |
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2.69 |
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1.29 |
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Mr. Kirwin said that the hole 1130 intersection highlights the potential for further large,
high-grade zones in and around the extensive SWAN system. This is the first high-grade copper and
gold zone intercepted at SWAN and the zone remains open in all directions. The tenor and thickness
of the high-grade mineralization appears to be superior to that previously mined at the Mt. Elliott
Mine, approximately one kilometre away. The high-grade sections within the 90-metre intercept are
associated with 1-to 3-metre wide veins of chalcopyrite, magnetite, pyrite and calcite. These veins
are sub-vertical and have a north-northeast trend. These zones might represent long-lived feeder
zones to the main body of mineralization or be crosscutting, late-stage mineralization. The style
and structure of the mineralization intersected in the newly discovered high-grade zone indicates
that repeat structures with similar grades and thicknesses are possible within the SWAN system.
Core from a section of hole 1130 showing an example the friable composition
of the intense chalcopyrite-rich, high-grade zone.
Ivanhoe is currently undertaking an aggressive drilling campaign to explore the immediate area
around the high-grade zone to expand the size and to better understand the structural controls of
the mineralization. An additional 150-metre wide intersection of visibly strong
chalcopyrite-dominated mineralization was intercepted in hole 1118, approximately 100 metres up-dip
from hole 1130, and within the same stratigraphic position. Assays are pending for hole 1118;
however, visual estimates indicate that this mineralization consists of broad zones of disseminated
copper with regular,
narrow high-grade veins. Given the tenor of the intersection in holes 1130 and 1118, a pattern of
drilling to achieve a mineral resource on this high-grade portion of SWAN will be completed as soon
as possible.
The SWAN deposit is part of the SWANMt. Elliott IOCG system that covers a surface area well in
excess of one square kilometre. Current drilling of the SWAN discovery has determined that
mineralization extends to a depth of at least 1,200 metres below surface. The discovery remains
open to depth and several other directions, including to the northwest, to the northeast and to the
south. The SWAN-Mt. Elliott system includes two other previously discovered deposits, SWELL and
Corbould. Recent drilling in hole 1134, which explored the area between the SWAN and SWELL
deposits, has intersected mineralization that indicates a genetic link between these two zones. One
of the objectives of the current drilling program is to determine if these four separate,
near-surface IOCG systems coalesce into a massive IOCG mineralized system at depth. Drilling is
ongoing around the clock with six drill rigs.
The SWAN-Mt. Elliott IOCG system is the first of numerous targets to be intensively drill tested by
Ivanhoe in the Cloncurry district. Delineation drilling has just begun at Mt. Dore (see below) and
Amethyst Castle, the second and third targets to be drill tested in the district. Reconnaissance
drilling at the other IOCG targets will proceed when sufficient delineation on the SWAN and Mt.
Dore prospects has been completed.
Reconnaissance drilling at the Amethyst Castle and Castle Mount prospects has intercepted
significant intersections of classic IOCG-style breccias similar to those that host economic
mineralization at the Ernest Henry Mine, near Cloncurry, and the Olympic Dam and Prominent Hill
deposits in South
Australias Gawler Craton. A first-pass drill program at the Metal Ridge prospect has intercepted
anomalous copper and gold mineralization similar in alteration style to the SWAN Deposit.
Mt. Dore Project
The Mt. Dore project, located on the Mt. Dore Belt 17 kilometres south of the SWAN deposit on
Ivanhoes Cloncurry tenements, has long been identified as a significant, open-ended body of
copper-rich mineralization.
Given the re-evaluation of all prospects on the Cloncurry site, Mt. Dore is currently being drilled
to complement the previous drill programs and complete the understanding of the extent of the
mineralization and provide information for a new NI 43-101-compliant resource calculation.
Some of the more significant results formerly drilled by Amoco and others dating back to the 1970s
include:
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22 metres @ 2.05% copper |
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169 metres @ 0.97% copper |
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130 metres @ 0.86% copper |
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180 metres @ 1.02% copper |
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143 metres @ 0.81% copper |
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116 metres @ 1.00% copper |
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301 metres @ 1.00% copper |
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104 metres @ 2.31% copper |
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true thicknesses were not reported. |
A new drilling program has commenced at Mt. Dore to expand the high-grade mineralization previously
delineated by earlier drilling.
Central and Northern Gossans
Detailed geological mapping and sampling are taking place at the Central and Northern Gossans areas
where copper and gold mineralization was intersected in limited shallow drilling carried out
decades ago. To date, mineralized zones have been intersected over a strike length of at least four
kilometres. This north-trending zone could represent the northern strike extension of the SWAN
deposit, which is already approximately 1.3 kilometres long.
Uranium potential within Ivanhoes tenements
In 1957, Rio Tinto flew an airborne radiometric survey south of Malbon in the Cloncurry district
and in the vicinity of Ivanhoes existing tenements, possibly exploring for deposits similar to the
then recently discovered Mary Kathleen uranium deposit. Uranium was first identified within
Ivanhoes Cloncurry tenements in the late 1960s and mid-1970s, with work initially carried out at
the Elizabeth Anne uranium prospect. Uranium also was discovered at the Dairy
Bore, Old Fence, U2 and Robert Heg prospects, all in the Kuridala area in the northern part of
Ivanhoes tenements.
Previous work from exploration programs conducted 30 years ago is being compiled and assessed.
During this earlier period, Marathon Oil and Minerals Pty. Ltd. completed 56 percussion holes and
three diamond holes at the Elizabeth Anne uranium prospect. Marathon reported that 25 of the holes
intersected anomalous uranium mineralization of >250 ppm U308. A total of 20 holes contained
sample intervals (widths were not stated) that returned values of up to 500 ppm U308. The best
reported intercept was five feet that assayed 7200 ppm U308. In November, 2006, Ivanhoe
commissioned an airborne radiometric survey over the northern tenements. This survey generated
numerous substantial and significant uranium anomalies that are currently the subject of
high-priority follow-up exploration work.
Ivanhoes Prospects in Historic Cloncurry-Mt. Isa Mining District
Ivanhoes 100%-owned Cloncurry Project covers the majority of the historic Selwyn Mining District.
Mines in the district have historically produced approximately 950,000 ounces of gold and 175,000
tonnes of copper through the processing of approximately 9.5 million tonnes of ore grading 3.62 g/t
gold and 2.03% copper. Ivanhoe acquired the Cloncurry Project in September, 2003, with a plan to
expand the known mineralization and to conduct an integrated exploration program designed to test
for significant deposits similar to the Ernest Henry Mine, owned by Xstrata, to the north, or the
Osborne Mine, owned by Barrick, to the south of Ivanhoes existing exploration tenements.
The recent drilling by Ivanhoe has confirmed that the area has geological potential to host
large-scale, high-grade iron oxide copper and gold deposits similar to the nearby Ernest Henry
Mine, and to the Olympic Dam and Prominent Hill mines in South Australia. The Northwest Queensland
Mineral Belt is one of the most significant mineral producers in the world. It hosts the Century,
Mount Isa, Cannington, George Fisher, Lady Loretta and Dugald River base metal deposits, the Ernest
Henry, Osborne and Eloise IOCG mines, the Tick Hill gold and the Mary Kathleen uranium deposits.
Ivanhoe also owns 12.0% of Exco Resources, (ASX: EXS), which has 4,700 square kilometres in the
Cloncurry region. Ivanhoe and Exco have a Joint Venture on 712 square kilometres of prospective
tenements that are largely contiguous with Ivanhoes Cloncurry tenements.
Assays
All Cloncurry samples were assayed by SGS at its analytical facilities in Townsville and Perth,
Australia.
Qualified Person
Douglas Kirwin, Ivanhoe Mines Executive Vice-President, Exploration, and Qualified Person as
defined by NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical and scientific information contained
in this release.
Ivanhoe Mines shares are listed on the Toronto, New York and NASDAQ stock exchanges under the
symbol IVN.
Information contacts:
Australia: Peter Reeve +613.9090.8801
North America: Investors: Bill Trenaman / Media: Bob Williamson: +1.604.688.5755
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This document includes forward-looking statements regarding Ivanhoe
Mines plans. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning the
planned drilling and exploration program at the Cloncurry project. When used in this document, the
words such as could, plan, estimate, expect, intend, may, potential, should and
similar expressions are forward-looking statements. Although Ivanhoe Mines believes that its
expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve
risks and uncertainties and no assurance can be given that actual results will be consistent with
these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from
these forward-looking statements are disclosed under the heading Risk Factors and elsewhere in
the corporations periodic filings with Canadian and US securities regulators.
Not for distribution to Australia news wire services or dissemination in Australia.
See below for pictures of the core from the SWAN drilling.