NEW MINERAL DEPOSIT DISCOVERED

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, /MONTSAME/ The Ivanhoe Mines LLC has reported that the Ivanhoe and BHP Billiton Ltd discovered a new zone of shallow copper-molybdenum-gold mineralization approximately 10 kilometers north of the Ivanhoe Mines Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mining complex currently under construction in southern Mongolia.
As of today, the "Oyu tolgoi" mineral deposits are considered as the richest in gold and copper resources in the world. The "Oyu tolgoi" mineral deposits are shared by the Ivanhoe Mines LLC (66 per cent) and the government of Mongolia (34 per cent). The exploration license of the new deposit, located in a place Ulaankhad, is co-owned by the Ivanhoe and BHP Billiton Ltd. The latter has made an investment of USD 8 million to the deposit in Ulaankhand and owns 50 per cent of the shares in accordance with a cooperation contract with the Ivanhoe Mines LLC. The most of the shares of Ivanhoe MInes are owned by the Rio Tinto Group (Great Britain and Australia).
According to Robert Friedland, executive director of the Ivanhoe Mines LLC, the discovered deposit covers 23 km long. Its resources are similar to those of the Oyu tolgoi, he said.
In accordance with a preliminary established contract between the Ivanhoe Mines LLC and the BHP Billiton Ltd, three years are to spent for preparing for the exploiting and continuing research works.
B.Khuder