Ivanhoe Mines Reports New Resource Estimate for Kipushi

Ivanhoe Mines (TSX:IVN) has released a new resource estimate for its Kipushi project in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Kipushi is a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines and Gécamines, the DRC’s state-owned mining company.
As quoted in the press release:

Highlights of this initial estimate, prepared by the MSA Group, of Johannesburg, South Africa, in compliance with CIM definition standards, are:

• Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources in the Big Zinc Zone of 10.2 million tonnes at grades of 34.89% zinc, 0.65% copper, 19 grams per tonne (g/t) silver and 51 g/t germanium, at a 7% 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 (Figure 1).
• Zinc-rich Inferred Mineral Resources total an additional 1.9 million tonnes at grades of 28.24% zinc, 1.18% 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% copper, 2.87% zinc and 22 g/t silver, at a 1.5% 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% copper, 6.97% 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 metres (21.7 metres true thickness) grading 2.6% copper, 36.2% zinc, 19 g/t silver and 204 g/t germanium to a depth of 1,763 metres. Included in this interval was an intersection from 580.9 metres to 591.3 metres (3.8 metres true thickness) grading 56.3% zinc, 0.5% copper, 12 g/t silver and 397 g/t germanium.

Ivanhoe Chairman, Robert Friedland, said:

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.
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.

Click here for the full press release.