Robert Friedland, Executive Chairman of Ivanhoe Mines (TSX:IVN) (formerly Ivanplats, TSX: IVP), and Lars-Eric Johansson, Chief Executive Officer, announced today that the company's ongoing dewatering program has achieved its key initial objective of restoring access to the main underground working level of the historic, high-grade Kipushi copper-zinc-germanium-lead and precious-metals mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) before the end of this year.
The water level, which reached 851 metres below surface at its peak, now has been reduced to the mine's main working level at 1,150 metres below surface. This progress puts the company in a position to begin its planned, 20,000-metre underground diamond-drilling program early in 2014. The program is designed to confirm the mine's estimated, remaining high-grade resources - which were included in the September 2012 Kipushi Technical Report prepared by IMC Group Consulting - and to seek to further expand the resources on strike and at depth.
"Steelwork and equipment are being progressively replaced and upgraded as the water level drops, providing access for drilling and advancing us to a very significant milestone in the redevelopment of the Kipushi Mine," said Mr. Johansson.
"Now we are in a position to begin our aggressive drilling program, which we believe will confirm and expand the mine's historical resources and set the stage for Kipushi to return to production as one of the world's highest-grade mines."
Ivanhoe expects to complete dewatering to the bottom of the mine's lowest level, at 1,270 metres below surface, during the first quarter of 2014.
100-hole underground drilling program set for 2014
Ivanhoe's planned 2014 drilling program is scheduled to complete approximately 100 holes totalling more than 20,000 metres.
Among the program's objectives is to conduct confirmatory drilling to validate the historical resources within Kipushi's Big Zinc and Fault zones and qualify them as current resources in conformance with standards established by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM).
