Ivanhoe Mines Receives Chinese Central Government Approval for Inner Mongolia Gold, Copper and Silver Projects
January 18 2005 - 8:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Ivanhoe Mines Receives Chinese Central Government Approval for
Inner Mongolia Gold, Copper and Silver Projects 30-YEAR BUSINESS
LICENCE GRANTED BEIJING, China, Jan. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Ivanhoe Mines Chairman Robert Friedland and Executive Vice
President, Exploration, Douglas Kirwin today announced that the
Chinese Ministry of Land & Resources (MOLAR) has approved the
transfer of six exploration licences held in the name of the Inner
Mongolia Bureau of Geology (Bureau) into Ivanhoe's Yahao joint
venture, an 80/20 joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines (80%) and the
Bureau (20%). In addition, the joint venture has received a 30-year
Permanent Business Licence from the Inner Mongolia Provincial
Government. Yahao is the first fully-approved Sino-Foreign joint
venture in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to receive both
Beijing's MOLAR authorization to transfer in exploration licences
and the Provincial Government's grant of a 30-year business
licence. Ivanhoe has the right to earn an 80% interest, and may
earn a 90% interest under certain circumstances, in all mineral
projects developed from the exploration and mining licences held by
the Yahao joint venture in China. Beijing's MOLAR approval is
important in that it provides central government authorization of
the exploration licence rights of the joint venture. The Permanent
Business Licence allows the Yahao joint venture to conduct business
and apply for exploration licences in its own name, without the
necessity of having the Bureau acquire the exploration licences and
subsequently transferring them into the joint venture. The six
exploration licences that received MOLAR approval consist of two
each for the three mineral projects in the Yahao joint venture -
Siwumuchang (gold-silver-copper), Whu Zhu Er Ga Shun (copper-gold)
and Ba Ri Tu Nan (gold-silver). In addition, the joint venture has
received approval from both Beijing's and Inner Mongolia's MOLAR to
transfer the existing Siwumuchang mining permit into the joint
venture. The Siwumuchang gold-silver-copper project is located in
northeastern Inner Mongolia. The Yahao joint venture holds two
exploration licences and one mining licence, covering an area of 90
square kilometres, encompassing the Siwumuchang deposit and its
projected strike extensions. Siwumuchang is a hybrid low- to
high-sulfidation epithermal gold-silver-copper system, hosted
within two closely-spaced, northwest-trending mineralized
structures. High-grade gold-silver-copper mineralization is hosted
in diatreme breccias and epithermal-banded quartz-sulfide veins.
Whu Zhu Er Ga Shun is a porphyry copper-gold discovery, located in
western Inner Mongolia. The Yahao joint venture holds two
exploration licences covering 103 square kilometres encompassing
the porphyry deposit. It also holds an option to transfer three
additional exploration licences held in the name of the Bureau,
that surround the porphyry deposit and are subject to further
exploration activities prior to being submitted to MOLAR for
approval. Monzodiorite-hosted porphyry copper-gold stockwork quartz
veins and disseminated mineralization outcrop within an area of six
square kilometres and are hosted in a late-Paleozoic sequence of
intensely altered, hornfelsed rhyodacitic to andesitic lavas and
volcaniclastic sediments. The Ba Ri Tu Nan gold-silver project is
located in northeastern Inner Mongolia. The Yahao joint venture
holds two exploration licences, covering an area of 89 square
kilometres, encompassing the main project area and its strike
extensions. Low-sulfidation, epithermal gold-silver mineralization
is exposed along an elongate ridge, consisting of intensely
silicified rhyodacitic to andesitic lavas, tuffs and minor
volcaniclastic debris flows. Abundant colloform to crustiform
quartz-adularia banded veins and vein-breccia subcrop are present,
representing the upper section of this mineralized epithermal
system. With respect to the Oblaga joint venture (an 80/20 joint
venture between Ivanhoe Mines (80%) and Inner Mongolia Huayu
Geology and Minerals Exploration Co. Ltd (Huayu) (20%)), Huayu is
working with the local government to obtain approval for the
transfer of the exploration licences, covering 400 square
kilometres in Inner Mongolia, including the Oblaga gold-copper
discovery, into the joint venture. A map showing the company's
exploration projects in Inner Mongolia is available at
http://www.ivanhoemines.com/. Inner Mongolia, one of China's
largest and least explored provinces, covers 1.18 million square
kilometres and forms part of China's northern border with Mongolia
and Russia. The region has large deposits of base and precious
metals, rare-earth minerals and coal. Ivanhoe Mines has been
aggressively pursuing its exploration activities in Inner Mongolia
since 2003. Douglas Kirwin, Ivanhoe Mines Executive Vice President,
Exploration, is the Qualified Person overseeing Ivanhoe's
exploration activities in Inner Mongolia, China, and he has
reviewed the technical information in this release. Ivanhoe has a
100% interest in the Oyu Tolgoi gold and copper project in Mongolia
and owns or controls exploration rights covering approximately
118,000 square kilometres in central and southern Mongolia, where
additional copper, gold and coal discoveries have been made.
Ivanhoe produces LME grade A copper from its Monywa joint venture
in Myanmar and iron ore products from ABM Mining's Savage River
mine in Australia. Ivanhoe's shares are listed on the New York,
Toronto and Australian stock exchanges under the symbol IVN.
Information contacts: Investors: Bill Trenaman / Media: Bob
Williamson +1.604.688.5755 Forward-Looking Statements: This
document includes forward-looking statements that include, but are
not limited to, statements concerning Ivanhoe's exploration in
Inner Mongolia and the 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: Investors: Bill Trenaman; 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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