Published: January 28, 2016 |

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Ivanhoe Mines has released a new, independent, mineral resource estimate for the company’s historic, high-grade, Kipushi zinc-copper-germanium-lead-silver mine. Kipushi is a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines and Gécamines, the state-owned mining company.

Highlights of this initial estimate are:

•  Measured and indicated mineral resources in the Big Zinc Zone of 10.2 million tonnes at grades of 34.89 percent zinc, 0.65 percent copper, 19 grams per tonne (g/t) silver and 51 g/t germanium, at a 7 percent zinc cut-off, containing an estimated 7.8 billion pounds of zinc.

•  The zinc grade of Kipushi’s measured and indicated mineral resources in the Big Zinc Zone is more than twice as high as the world’s next-highest-grade zinc project, independently ranked by Wood Mackenzie, an international industry research and consulting group, based on contained zinc.

•  Zinc-rich inferred mineral resources total an additional 1.9 million tonnes at grades of 28.24 percent zinc, 1.18 percent copper, 10 g/t silver and 53 g/t germanium. The inferred mineral resources are contained partially in the Big Zinc Zone and partially in the Southern Zinc Zone.

•  Kipushi’s copper-rich measured and indicated mineral resources contained in the adjacent Fault Zone, Fault Zone Splay and Série Récurrente Zone total an additional 1.63 million tonnes at grades of 4.01 percent copper, 2.87 percent zinc and 22 g/t silver, at a 1.5 percent copper cut-off, containing 144 million pounds of copper. Copper-rich inferred mineral resources in these zones total an additional 1.64 million tonnes at grades of 3.30 percent copper, 6.97 percent zinc and 19 g/t silver.

•  Ivanhoe’s exploration program has demonstrated that zinc and copper mineralization of the Kipushi system remains open laterally and at depth. Results recently received from hole KPU081, drilled on section line 6S, confirm high-grade copper-zinc mineralization at depth. KPU081 intersected 60.5 meters (21.7 metrer true thickness) grading 2.6 percent copper, 36.2 percent zinc, 19 g/t silver and 204 g/t germanium to a depth of 1,763 meters. Included in this interval was an intersection from 580.9 meters to 591.3 meters (3.8 meters true thickness) grading 56.3 percent zinc, 0.5 percent copper, 12 g/t silver and 397 g/t germanium.

“This independent estimate of Kipushi’s mineral resources has exceeded our expectations. We are convinced that significant additional mineral resources can be delineated at Kipushi,” said Robert Friedland, executive chairman at Ivanhoe Mines.

“With a current resource now established, we are evaluating technical and infrastructure options to best advance the project. The exceptionally high grades that consistently are being discovered at Kipushi are unique in the international mining industry and provide further confirmation that this project has the potential to benefit the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo for decades to come when it returns to production,” added Friedland.

To read more details in the company’s press release, CLICK HERE

About Ivanhoe Mines
In addition to the Kipushi Project, Ivanhoe Mines is developing two other principal projects: (1) The Kamoa copper discovery in a previously unknown extension of the Central African Copperbelt in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s southern Lualaba province. In March 2015, members of the Ivanhoe Mines exploration team received the prestigious Thayer Lindsley Award from the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada for the Kamoa copper discovery, recognized as the year’s top international mineral discovery. On December 8, 2015, Ivanhoe and China’s Zijin Mining Group completed a landmark agreement to co-develop the world-scale Kamoa discovery. (2) A multi-phased mine development on its 64 percent-owned Platreef discovery of platinum, palladium, nickel, copper, gold and rhodium in South Africa’s Bushveld Complex. The South African beneficiaries of a broad-based, black economic empowerment structure have a 26 percent stake in the Platreef Project and the remaining 10 percent is owned by a Japanese consortium of ITOCHU Corporation; Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation; ITC Platinum Development Ltd., an ITOCHU affiliate; and Japan Gas Corporation.

To stop by Ivanhoe Mines’ website, CLICK HERE

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