Ivanhoe Mines Gets a Boost from SouthGobi Discovery

Shares of Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (IVN) were up more than 3% this morning after its subsidiary announced positive sampling results.

Ivanhoe owns roughly 90% of SouthGobi Energy Resources Ltd., which has discovered a gold and silver system at its property in Java, Indonesia.

On Monday, BMO Capital Markets analyst Craig Miller said the impact of this news could be positive given that the sampling program of more than 70 trenches identified several “high-level veins” in an 520 metre-wide and 200 metre-long area.

The mineralization may extend for an additional 500 metres, he told clients in a note, adding that SouthGobi’s 3,000-metre drilling program is scheduled to begin in early 2008.

Comments

[deuxsous]

Friedland is the self-made cat with nine lives. When one of his wunder-mines fails he's always got another somewhere that is the mine of the future. He's just lucky I guess,,,,,,hmmmmmmmm

[swimjames]

if you don't want to take the risk of investing in Friedland directly, there's always the QGX Ltd choice which also has properties in Mongolia and currently has the below JVs with IVN:
QGX acquired several exploration licenses located in the South Central Gobi Desert in Mongolia in the mid - 90's. QGX operated several exploration programs on these properties from 1994-98, which included surveying, mapping, soil sampling, trenching, and diamond drilling. Two primary prospects were identified by these programs: Kharmagtai and Ovoot Hyar(Turquoise Ridges).

QGX joint ventured both properties with Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (IVN.T) in March of 2002. Ivanhoe has been very active in Mongolia since 2000 following it's significant copper-gold porphyry discovery at Turquoise Hill (Oyo Tolgoi), approximately 120km south of Kharmagtai in the Gobi desert. QGX has a 20% carried interest through to production in Turquoise Ridge and a 10% carried interest through to production in Kharmagtai.

* Kharmagtai
* Ovoot Hyar (Turquoise Ridges)
* Uhaa Hudaag
* Shuteen

Kharmagtai
The Kharmagtai prospect covers 67 sq. km, approximately 120 km north of the Turquoise Hill (Oyu Tolgoi) discovery recently announced by Ivanhoe Mines Ltd (IVN.T). Exploration on Kharmagtai by QGX from 1995-98 included 9,000 rock samples, 4,000 soil samples, 19 km. of trenching, 240 km. of magnetic surveying, local IP surveys and 18 widely spaced diamond drill holes, totaling 3,730 meters. Drilling intersected significant near-surface gold-copper mineralization in magnetite rich quartz stockworks. The best hole returned consistent mineralization over 72 meters grading 3.08 g/t gold and 1.89% copper.

Ivanhoe is continuing to drill the identified stockworks at Kharmagtai and is actively drill testing other targets identified by QGX. Two holes drilled to date by Ivanhoe at Kharmagtai have encountered significant mineralization: 62 m of 2.49 g/t gold and 1.21% copper in hole #2, and 102 meters grading 2.09 g/t gold and 1.05% copper, including 46 meters grading 3.98 g/t gold and 1.59% copper, in hole #3. Drilling is continuing and further results are pending.

top

Ovoot Hyar (Turquoise Ridges)
The Ovoot Hyar prospect (also called Turquoise Ridges) covers 193 sq km and is approximately 10 km west of Kharmagtai. Gold mineralization is widespread throughout the Ovoot area. In 1996, 11.4 kms of trenching in the main alteration zone revealed large areas of anomalous gold. In addition, geochemical sampling and detailed mapping over a 10 km by 6 km grid centered on the main alteration zone led to the identification of significant gold values in intrusives and structures within the surrounding area. Multiple drill targets were identified. Ivanhoe is currently drill testing the OV-3 prospect at Turquoise Ridges.

QGX expects to receive results from these programs on a regular basis. Updates on these properties can also be found at ivanhoemines.com.

top

Uhaa Hudaag
The Uhaa Hudaag prospect consists of a series of gold-bearing quartz veins contained in a broad zone of quartz-sericite alteration within a metasedimentary and metavolcanic sequence.

During 1995 and 1997 QGX completed extensive exploration programs at Uhaa Hudaag including trenching, geologic mapping, geophysical surveys and drilling. Visible gold was found in the quartz veins and high grades of gold (4.66 g/t over 5 meters) were also found host rocks lacking quartz veins (a strongly limonitic and carbonaceous altered sandstone). The vein system is contained within a shear zone up to 120 m wide and 2.5 km long.

Previous trench results include:

* Trench 3 - 2.53 g Au/t over 42.0m including 4.27 g Au/t over 13.0 m.
* Trench 6 - 2.57 g Au/t over 31.0m.
* Trench 5 - 1.96 g Au/t over 79.0m including 5.00 g Au/t over 21.0m.
* Trench 2 - 2.27 g Au/t over 19.5m.
* Trench 7 - 2.57 g Au/t over 13.0m.
* Trench 1 - 1.24 g Au/t over 41.0m including 2.50 g Au/t over 11.0m.
* Trench 12 - 1.62 g Au/t 23.0m containing 2.50 g Au/t over 12.5 m.
* Trench 11 - 1.62 g Au/t over 16.0m.

A planned 1800 m drill program in 1997 was abandoned after 537 m had been drilled because of poor core recovery. Multiple intersections of anomalous gold were intersected in each of the three drill holes, including 6.6 meters of 2.4 g/t, 1.4 meters of 14.07 g/t and 3.3 meters 4.9 g/t. Unfortunately poor core recovery in the immediate area of the intercepts made it difficult to evaluate the potential of the target particularly in those areas where mineralization is hosted by metasedimentary rocks.

A follow-up drill program late in the summer of 2003 tested the down-dip extension of the Uhaa Hudag mesothermal quartz-gold vein system below the level of oxidation where core recovery problems were encountered in the earlier program. The four-hole drill program returned multiple intersections of significant gold (see October 28, 2003 release). Thirty-three samples returned assays of 1 g/t Au or better. The highest-grade intersection returned 26.3 g/t Au over 1.0 m. The multiple and high-grade gold intersections on sections 8,400 and 8,600 as well as visible gold in two of the four holes confirm that the gold-quartz veins exposed on surface extend downward to greater than 200 meters depth.

The auriferous quartz vein swarm is contained within a 2.5 km long shear zone. Current drilling has tested only 200 meters of strike length. A fifth hole drilled to test a sub-parallel zone located several hundred m to the south was collared on the edge of the zone, where it cut quartz veins only in the upper portions of the drill hole. This target is believed to be significant given the substantial increase in strength of the associated IP response. Further geophysical studies as well as additional drilling are planned at Uhaa Hudaag in late 2003 or early 2004.

top

Shuteen
The Shuteen prospect comprises 93 sq km approximately 100 km east of Kharmagtai. It consists of a very large high sulphidation lithocap and breccia pipe complex. Key features of the Shuteen alteration zone are its size, intensity of leaching, secondary enrichment possibilities and a strong molybdenum geochemical signature in leached hydrothermal breccias suggesting underlying porphyry mineralization. Russian programs included drilling in the peripheral areas of the cap. Targets identified by QGX will be drill tested in 2004/2005.

[swimjames]

RE: my above comment - DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE FACT THAT ROBERT FRIEDLAND IS A RIP OFF ARTIST (THE HEAD OF IVANHOE)? DID YOU READ THE BIG SCORE?