Ivanhoe Mines Discovers Potentially Significant Iron Oxide Copper/Gold Mineralization at Australian Cloncurry Project
22 March 2005 - 12:50AM
PR Newswire (US)
Ivanhoe Mines Discovers Potentially Significant Iron Oxide
Copper/Gold Mineralization at Australian Cloncurry Project
BRISBANE, Australia, March 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Douglas
Kirwin, Ivanhoe Mines' Executive Vice-President, Exploration,
announced today that the company has discovered a new deposit of
potentially significant, iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG)
mineralization at its Cloncurry Project, approximately 160
kilometres southeast of Mount Isa, in northwestern Queensland,
Australia. Ivanhoe's geologists believe that the discovery is
geologically similar to the Proterozoic IOCG, breccia-hosted
deposits at the Olympic Dam, Prominent Hill and Ernest Henry mines,
also in Australia. The Cloncurry project is 100%-owned by Ivanhoe
Cloncurry Mines Pty. Ltd., a wholly-owned, indirect subsidiary of
Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. The new discovery is at the Swan prospect, a
300-metre-wide by 400-metre- long magnetic anomaly located 600
metres southwest of the former Mount Elliott gold and copper mine.
Ivanhoe recently completed a preliminary, 1,600-metre, diamond
drilling program to test the Swan anomaly. High-grade IOCG,
breccia- hosted, supergene and hypogene chalcocite and gold
mineralization was encountered in six holes to a depth of at least
350 metres below surface. The mineralization is open-ended along
strike and to depth. Hole MEHQ-1069 intersected 79 metres grading
1.45% copper and 0.99 g/t gold (a copper equivalent grade of
2.09%), starting at a depth of 83 metres down hole. Hole MEHQ-1068
encountered 115 metres grading 0.96% copper and 0.86 g/t gold (a
copper equivalent grade of 1.52%), commencing at a depth of 65
metres down hole. MEHQ-1073 intersected 154 metres grading 0.81%
copper and 0.49 g/t gold (a copper equivalent grade of 1.13%),
starting at a depth of 115 metres below surface. Ivanhoe's drilling
also confirmed the existence of a substantial, supergene copper and
gold blanket of oxidized, clay-altered material overlying the IOCG
breccia-hosted, hypogene chalcocite and gold mineralization at the
Swan prospect. This supergene blanket, which extends to depths of
up to 100 metres below surface, was partially identified by a
previous 85-hole, shallow-drilling campaign conducted by former
owners of the Mount Elliott mine. Ivanhoe is conducting
metallurgical testing on the supergene material to determine the
heap-leach parameters of the near-surface, oxidized material. Below
the supergene blanket, calc-silicate-altered sediments and
meta-basalt rocks host a large, gold-bearing vein/breccia system
comprised of chalcocite, bornite and magnetite. This primary
sulphide zone has been drilled only by 12 widely-distributed holes,
eight of which intercepted significant IOCG mineralization. Ivanhoe
plans to recommence diamond drilling in the near future to further
delineate the extent and grade of the underlying primary chalcocite
and gold mineralization. Additional shallow holes also will be
drilled into the supergene blanket. The results will form the basis
for an independent resource estimate for this zone. Ivanhoe has
assembled a project development team to investigate the potential
of quickly producing cathode copper from the supergene
mineralization at the Swan deposit. The team includes Stephen Ross
and Paul Monaghan, previously General Manager and Chief
Metallurgist respectively, at the Monywa heap-leach SX/EW mine in
Myanmar (50%-owned by Ivanhoe Mines), one of the world's
lowest-cost, primary copper producers. The team has significant
experience in the construction and operation of heap-leach SX/EW
plants and is confident that the technology can be successfully
transferred to the Cloncurry Project at a relatively low-capital
entry cost. Significant copper and gold drill intersections also
were encountered 300 metres down-dip of the supergene zone in
previous holes drilled by former operators of the project (e.g.,
Hole SWQ-90-11 intersected 12.4 metres grading 1.14% copper and
0.94 g/t gold, beginning at a down-hole depth of 389.6 metres, and
52 metres grading 0.77% copper and 0.47 g/t gold, beginning at a
down-hole depth of 150 metres). There also are copper sulphide
intersections at the Swell Zone, between the Mount Elliot and Swan
prospects, (e.g., Hole MEQ-03-1049 intersected 109 metres grading
1.14% copper and 0.38 g/t gold, beginning at a down-hole depth of
93 metres). The connection between the drill intersections at Swan,
Swell and Elliott has not been determined by drilling. Each deposit
is covered by a discrete magnetic anomaly. Resistivity anomalies
may relate to mineralization trends, pointing to northeast- and
northwest-trending structural relationships between the deposits.
The Swan South copper anomaly sits in such a resistivity anomaly,
which is interpreted as the intersection of two geological
structures. Highlighted Swan Project Diamond Drill Results
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Downhole Downhole Depth Depth Downhole MGA94 Zone 54 From To
Interval Copper Gold Copper Hole Easting Northing
(metres)(metres)(metres) % g/t Eq.%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
MEHQ-1068 447705 7617800 8 56 48 0.85 0.57 1.22
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
65 180.4 115.4 0.96 0.86 1.52
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
MEHQ-1069 447736 7617900 53 74 21 0.36 0.21 0.50
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
83 162 79 1.45 0.99 2.09
--------------------------------------------- 176 204 28 0.71 0.46
1.01
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
MEHQ-1070 447634 7617900 9 79 70 1.20 0.31 1.40
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
MEHQ-1071 447595 7617800 15 59 44 0.79 0.48 1.10
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
65 80 15 0.66 0.48 0.97
--------------------------------------------- 94 106 12 0.63 0.29
0.82 --------------------------------------------- 114 145 31 0.63
0.47 0.93 --------------------------------------------- 185 211 26
0.42 0.37 0.66
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
MEHQ-1072 447659 7617700 31 101 70 0.59 0.31 0.79
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
112 137 25 0.61 0.41 0.88
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
MEHQ-1073 447438 7617800 8 59 51 0.49 0.07 0.54
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
115 269 154 0.81 0.49 1.13
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Intersections were calculated using 0.3% copper cut-off.
Lower-grade material up to a maximum of five metres down hole was
only included if further high grades justified the inclusion of the
low-grade zone. 2) Copper equivalent grades have been calculated
using the following formula: (copper price $/lb x copper % x 22.04)
+ (gold g/t x gold price $/g) / copper price $/lb x 22.04 where
copper price is $0.90 / pound and gold price is $400 / ounce equals
$12.86 / gram. Diamond drill holes MEHQ-1068, 1069, 1070, 1071 and
1072 were drilled to the west (263 deg.) at -60 degrees. Holes
MEHQ-1073 and 1074 were drilled to the east (83 deg.) at - 60
degrees, as illustrated on the accompanying drill plan and
sections. The Cloncurry Project, covering an area of more than
1,450 square kilometres of highly prospective Proterozoic terrain,
was acquired by Ivanhoe in September 2003. Since its acquisition,
Ivanhoe has been conducting a comprehensive exploration program on
the property, with the objective of identifying bulk-tonnage
copper-gold mining opportunities for development. Ivanhoe has
scheduled drilling in the coming months on a number of high-quality
targets. Some of the targets have not been previously drill tested;
others have had only limited scout drilling. Ivanhoe believes that
the area has excellent geological potential to host large-scale,
high-grade iron oxide copper and gold deposits similar to the
nearby Ernest Henry Mine, or the Olympic Dam Mine, 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, Hilton Group, Cannington, Lady Loretta and Dugald River
base metal deposits, the Ernest Henry and Osborne IOCG mines, the
Tick Hill gold deposit and the Mary Kathleen rare earth and
Valhalla uranium deposits. The Ernest Henry copper-gold mine, 38
kilometres northeast of Cloncurry, mines approximately 10 million
tonnes of ore each year from an open-pit operation to produce
approximately 360,000 tonnes of concentrate containing 100,000
tonnes of copper and 125,000 ounces of gold. The Ernest Henry
project has been a major catalyst for significant infrastructure
development in northwestern Queensland. New and improved services
have included the installation of a 115-kilometre water pipeline
and electricity transmission lines, upgrading and conversion of
Mount Isa's Mica Creek Power Station from coal to natural gas,
construction of a new airport terminal and provision of improved
air services - all of which are close enough to serve Ivanhoe's
Cloncurry Project. (On July 17, 2001, Ivanhoe announced the
discovery of the Southwest Oyu Zone at Oyu Tolgoi containing
"potentially significant porphyry gold, copper and molybdenum
mineralization" - the first of what was to be a series of major
discoveries at Oyu Tolgoi. On November 3, 1994, Diamond Fields
Resources, headed by principals of Ivanhoe Mines, announced the
discovery of a "potentially significant occurrence of base-metal
mineralization" containing nickel, copper and cobalt at what was to
become the giant Voisey's Bay nickel deposit in Eastern Canada).
The technical information in this release is based on information
compiled by James Heape, a Fellow of the Australian Institute of
Geoscientists and a Qualified Person as required by NI 43-101. Mr.
Heape, a full-time Ivanhoe Cloncurry employee, has sufficient
experience that is relevant to the style of mineralization and type
of deposit under consideration, and to the activity that he is
undertaking, to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the
2004 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration
Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves. All samples were
assayed by SGS at its analytical facility in Townsville, Australia.
Ivanhoe's shares are listed on the New York, Toronto and Australian
stock exchanges under the symbol IVN. Information contacts in North
America: Investors: Bill Trenaman +1.604.688.5755 / Media: Bob
Williamson +1.604.688.5755 Forward-Looking Statements: This
document includes forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning
Ivanhoe's planned exploration program at the Cloncurry prospect and
other statements that are not historical facts. 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 corporation's periodic filings with Canadian, US
and Australian securities regulators. DATASOURCE: Ivanhoe Mines
Ltd. CONTACT: Information contacts in North America: Investors:
Bill Trenaman, (604) 688-5755; Media: Bob Williamson, (604)
688-5755; To request a free copy of this organization's annual
report, please go to http://www.newswire.ca/ and click on
reports@cnw.
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