Ivanhoe Mines appoints senior mining executive to lead company's Mongolian Coal Division
08 Novembro 2005 - 11:30AM
PR Newswire (US)
ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia, Nov. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Robert M.
Friedland, Chairman of Ivanhoe Mines, announced today that the
company has appointed Gene Wusaty, P. Eng., as President of its
Mongolian Coal Division. Mr. Wusaty has been given the mandate to
lead the company's development of its coal projects in Mongolia,
including the Nariin Sukhait Mine Development Project. "We are just
beginning to unlock the potential of our coal properties in
Mongolia," said Robert Friedland, Ivanhoe Mines' Chairman. "We
believe Mr. Wusaty is the right individual to lead our Mongolian
coal mining team. He has extensive experience in project management
of all phases of coal mine development and operations, including
engineering, permitting and processing, and safety and
environmental programs." Mr. Wusaty is a professional mining
engineer with 25 years of mining- related operational experience,
with progressively increasing responsibilities in underground and
open-pit coal mining and coal-fired power generation operations in
Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. In the coal industry he has
worked for Elk Valley Coal Corp., Fording Coal Limited, Quintette
Coal Ltd. and Grande Cache Coal Corp. Mr. Wusaty was Mine Manager
of several large-scale metallurgical and mine-mouth power
generation coal projects in western Canada. These projects include
Elk Valley Coal's (formerly Fording Coal) Cardinal River mine
(annual production of 1.4 million tonnes of coal near Hinton,
Alberta), Fording Coal's Genesee mine (annual production of 3.5
million tonnes of coal a year for the Genesee Generating Station in
Warburg, Alberta) and Fording Coal's Whitewood Mine (annual
production of 2.8 million tonnes of coal for the Wabamun Generating
Station in Wabamun, Alberta). In the position of Manager of
Engineering for Fording Coal Ltd., Mr. Wusaty worked on various
projects including successful bids for long-term mining contracts
with TransAlta Utilities and Syncrude Canada Ltd., development of
coal-fired power generation projects in British Columbia and
Alberta, and providing technical support to the operating mines. He
also was maintenance superintendent at the Fording River Mine, a
large shovel-and-truck open-pit coal mine located in Elkford,
British Columbia, and Mine Superintendent at the Quintette Coal
Mine in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. In his most recent
position as Vice President and COO of Grande Cache Coal, Mr. Wusaty
brought a surface mine and an underground mine into production with
a production target of approximately 1.4 million tonnes. He also
was responsible for obtaining all permits, operating licences and
contracts for the development and operation of the surface and
underground mines. Ivanhoe's most advanced Mongolian coal project
is at Nariin Sukhait, approximately 40 kilometres north of the
Mongolia-China border. Independent evaluations of the coal at the
Nariin Sukhait Project, prepared by Norwest Corporation of Salt
Lake City, Utah, and based on drilling to August 9, 2005, estimated
that the measured plus indicated resources total approximately 116
million tonnes - plus an additional inferred resource of
approximately 42 million tonnes. (See Ivanhoe Mines' October 16th
news release and October 18th material change report for
descriptions of the key assumptions, parameters and methods used to
estimate the resources). New resource estimates based on drilling
to early November, 2005, are expected before the end of 2005.
Ivanhoe plans to bring the updated Nariin Sukhait resources into a
pre-feasibility-level study in the first quarter of 2006. The
company is involved in preliminary marketing discussions with
potential coal buyers. Successful negotiations and the issuance of
a mining licence by the Mongolian government could see initial
production from the Ivanhoe properties in the second half of 2006.
In-Place Coal Resources(x) Summary for Nariin Sukhait as of August
9, 2005
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
In-Place Resources Area ASTM (Tonnes) Group
------------------------------------------ Measured Indicated
Inferred
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
South Field 9,771,000 8,704,000 9,870,000 ------------- High-
------------------------------------------ East Field Volatile
20,007,000 10,862,000 5,086,000 ------------- Bituminous
------------------------------------------ West Field 33,277,000
33,545,000 26,806,000
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total 116,166,000 41,762,000
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(x)Resources that are not reserves do not have demonstrated
economic viability. Initial coal-quality testing ranks the Nariin
Sukhait coal as high-volatile bituminous under American Society for
Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards. Drill-core samples are
undergoing complete thermal and metallurgical testing by SGS
Minerals Services in Denver, Colorado, USA. Qualified Person
---------------- Mr. Steven B. Kerr, Senior Geologist with Norwest
Corporation and a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, has
reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this
release. Ivanhoe has a 100% interest in the Oyu Tolgoi copper and
gold project and owns or controls exploration rights covering
approximately 134,000 square kilometres in central and southern
Mongolia, where additional copper-gold and coal discoveries have
been made. Ivanhoe produces LME Grade A copper from its Monywa
joint venture in Myanmar. Ivanhoe shares are listed on the Toronto
and New York stock exchanges under the symbol IVN. Information
contacts Investors: Bill Trenaman: +1.604.688.5755 Media: Bob
Williamson: +1.604.688.5755 http://www.ivanhoemines.com/
Forward-Looking Statements: This press release includes certain
"Forward- Looking Statements" within the meaning of section 21E of
the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. When
used in this document, the words such as "could," "plan,"
"estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "potential," "should," and
similar expressions are forward-looking statements. The risk
factors that could cause actual results to differ from these
forward- looking statements include, but are not restricted to, the
planned development of the Nariin Sukhait coal project, operational
risk, environmental risk, financial risk, geo-political risk,
commodity risk, currency risk and other risks that are disclosed
under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in the corporation's
periodic filings with securities regulators in Canada and the
United States. DATASOURCE: Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. CONTACT: Investors:
Bill Trenaman: (604) 688-5755; Media: Bob Williamson: (604)
688-5755; http://www.ivanhoemines.com/; To request a free copy of
this organization's annual report, please go to
http://www.newswire.ca/ and click on Tools for Investors.
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