Latest drilling expands Kamoa North copper discovery New corridor of shallow, high-grade copper mineralization

November 14, 2018

Latest drilling expands Kamoa North copper discovery

New corridor of shallow, high-grade copper mineralization

– extending for at least nine kilometres – delineated by ongoing

drilling is projected to continue onto adjacent Western Foreland

exploration licences 100%-owned by Ivanhoe

KOLWEZI, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO – Robert Friedland and Yufeng “Miles” Sun,

Co-Chairmen of Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN; OTCQX: IVPAF), announced today that exploration

drilling at the Kamoa North prospect area, on the 397-square-kilometre Kamoa-Kakula mining

licence, approximately 25 kilometres west of the mining centre of Kolwezi in the Democratic

Republic of Congo (DRC), has successfully delineated two new, continuous corridors of shallow

copper mineralization containing zones of thick, high-grade copper.

The newly delineated copper corridors occur on the western flank of the un-mineralized Kamoa

Dome at Kamoa North. The most significant corridor trends north and south for more than nine

kilometres before swinging to the northwest and is projected to continue onto the adjacent

Western Foreland exploration licences that are 100%-owned by Ivanhoe Mines. The second

corridor trends west-southwest, away from the Kamoa Dome and toward the West Scarp Fault,

over a distance of three to four kilometres.

“Our latest exploration success, at Kamoa North, provides additional options for mine planning

and sequencing at Kamoa-Kakula,” said Mr. Friedland. “The unparalleled strength and

continuity of the high-grade mineralized trends on the Kamoa-Kakula Project also bode well for

the potential for further success right next door, on Ivanhoe’s 700-square-kilometre Western

Foreland exploration licences, north and west of Kamoa-Kakula.”

The tier-one Kamoa-Kakula Project is a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines, Zijin Mining and

the DRC government.

An independent Mineral Resource estimate published last February established Kamoa-Kakula

as the world’s fourth-largest copper discovery. Kamoa-Kakula’s copper grades are the highest,

by a wide margin, of the world’s top 10 copper deposits (see Figure 9, page 14).

The Kamoa North Exploration Area is approximately 12 kilometres north of Kamoa’s Kansoko

Mine development and approximately 20 kilometres north of the Kamoa-Kakula Project’s

planned initial mine at the Kakula Deposit (see Figure 1, page 2). The discovery area already is

accessible by an all-season road that connects with the provincial road to Kolwezi and is close

to the newly installed electricity line running from Kamoa North to the planned Kansoko and

Kakula mines.

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Figure 1. Kamoa-Kakula mining licence, showing the two newly defined corridors

(see 1 and 2 circled below) with high-grade copper zones* at the Kamoa North

Exploration Area, the Kamoa and Kakula Mineral Resource areas and the

adjacent Western Foreland exploration-licence area.

*Grade contours in the Kamoa North exploration area in Figure 1 are for illustration purposes only. See

Figure 3 and Figure 4 for actual contours of copper grade at Kamoa North for 1% and 2% composites.

Kamoa North exploration success based on updated interpretation

Exploration drilling in 2017 and 2018 in the Kamoa North area targeted structural- and

lithological-controlled grade trends recognized during the targeting reviews in early 2017 that

identified multiple target areas on the Kamoa-Kakula mining licence. Continuity of copper

grades along these trends has been largely confirmed. Drilling will continue in 2018 and early

2019, with the intention of updating the Kamoa North Mineral Resource area in 2019.

The newly delineated copper corridors are indicated with dashed and dotted lines in figures 3

and 4 (pages 6 and 7). The corridors are partly within the previously defined Inferred Mineral

Resources, but the definition provided by additional drilling has allowed significantly increased

continuity of grade to be established and then extended along strike into previously untested

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areas. The recognition of high-grade trends in areas previously tested by wider-spaced drilling

reflects a growing understanding of the controls on mineralization at Kamoa-Kakula (Figure 6).

Mineralization thicknesses range from three metres up to 18 metres at a 1% copper cut-off. The

mineralized horizon generally is in the region of 150 metres to 300 metres below surface, except

on the west side of the West Scarp Fault (see Figure 2), where it strikes roughly north–south

and dips gently to the west at between five and 10 degrees (see Figure 7).

Sulphide mineralization at Kamoa North tends to be bottom-loaded and shows typical

downward zonation from chalcopyrite to bornite to chalcocite. Chalcopyrite dominates in the

lower grade intercepts and when mineralization extends into the overlying pyritic siltstone. Fine-

grained bornite and chalcocite dominate in the highest-grade intersections (see Figure 8).

Selected drill holes from the Kamoa North drilling program:

 DD1396 intersected 18.26 metres (true width) of 5.73% copper, at a 1.0% copper cut-off, and

17.27 metres (true width) of 5.98% copper at a 2.0% copper cut-off, from a downhole depth

of 233.60 metres.

 DD1382 intersected 8.05 metres (true width) of 4.45% copper, at a 1.0% copper cut-off, and

7.55 metres (true width) of 4.66% copper at a 2.0% copper cut-off, from a downhole depth of

199.5 metres.

 DD1213 intersected 6.97 metres (true width) of 4.08% copper at a 1.0% copper cut-off, and

6.44 metres (true width) of 4.26% copper, at a 2.0% copper cut-off, from a downhole depth of

226.45 metres.

 DD1406 intersected 14.92 metres (true width) of 3.18% copper at a 1.0% copper cut-off, and

7.26 metres (true width) of 4.54% copper, at a 2.0% copper cut-off, from a downhole depth of

231 metres.

 DD1408 intersected 5.99 metres (true width) of 5.26% copper at a 1.0% copper cut-off, and

4.45 metres (true width) of 6.88% copper, at a 2.0% copper cut-off, from a downhole depth of

527 metres.

Table 1, on page 12, contains a complete list of assay results, at 1% and 2% copper cut-offs, for

the drill holes completed at Kamoa North since the last resource update. Table 1 includes 13

holes drilled in 2017 that were included in the March 2018 Kamoa-Kakula Technical Report as

drilling completed since the effective date of the Resource estimate.

“The discovery of these new, high-grade zones at Kamoa North clearly demonstrate Kamoa-

Kakula’s remarkable potential to significantly increase the project’s current copper resources,”

said Mr. Friedland. “Kamoa-Kakula already is the world’s fourth-largest copper discovery on the

planet in terms of contained copper.

“What our mining engineers find particularly attractive about the Kamoa North discovery is that

the copper mineralization is thick, flat lying and relatively shallow. The high-grade copper also

is generally bottom-loaded, similar to our earlier Kakula and Makoko discoveries, and should be

ideally suited to mining at elevated copper cut-off grades.”

Mr. Friedland reiterated that Ivanhoe and Zijin are firmly committed to fast-tracking Kamoa-

Kakula’s first mining operation at Kakula. “Based on the findings of the independent preliminary

economic assessment completed a year ago, the resources we’ve discovered at Kakula should

allow Ivanhoe and Zijin to build a world-scale, highly-mechanized, underground copper mine

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producing at an initial mining rate of six million tonnes a year, and potentially amenable to

subsequent stages of phased mine expansions up to 18 million tonnes a year, and beyond.”

Exploration drilling continuing

Ivanhoe and Zijin are continuing with exploration and step-out drilling around the presently

defined Mineral Resource boundaries at the Kamoa and Kakula discoveries. Eight drills are

operating at Kamoa-Kakula. One rig is drilling resource-extension holes at Kakula Main; two rigs

are drilling infill holes at Kakula West; three rigs are drilling step-out holes at Kakula West; and

two rigs are drilling exploration/step-out holes at Kamoa North. Approximately 74,000 metres of

a planned 81,000-metre, 2018 drilling program have been completed to date this year.

Range of mine-development options under study

The pre-feasibility study (PFS) for the planned, initial six million-tonne-per-annum (Mtpa) Kakula

Mine is expected to be completed early in 2019. This PFS will provide more detailed information

related to the project’s economic assumptions and will incorporate results from detailed

engineering and optimization work.

Ivanhoe and Zijin also are exploring potential options to expand future production. The 2017

PEA noted the potential for a 12 Mtpa scenario, to be achieved through the sequential

development of both the Kakula and Kansoko mines. Based on subsequent discoveries,

including Kakula West, Ivanhoe and Zijin also are exploring the potential for expanding

production to 18 Mtpa, and beyond.

Exploration is continuing to progress at Kamoa-Kakula and to the west, on Ivanhoe’s 100%-

owned exploration licences in the adjacent Western Foreland area, where drilling recently

discovered a large, high-grade zone of copper at Makoko.

Ivanhoe believes this phased approach to building what ultimately could become one of the

world’s largest copper-mining complexes will provide an attractive combination of lower initial

capital cost while maintaining key operating efficiencies and economies of scale.

The newly delineated, high-grade zones are near surface and flat lying. Given this depth and dip,

they could be amenable to traditional, non-fill room-and-pillar-style mining that can provide high

mining recovery, is highly productive and economically efficient.

Mr. Friedland said that potential construction of an additional shallow access decline in the

Kamoa North area will be studied, which would expand the range of options presently being

considered for the development of Kamoa-Kakula.

“We remain confident that there are more high-grade copper discoveries to be made in the area

and that the ultimate scale of mining operations at Kamoa-Kakula will be much larger than

currently modelled by a number of analysts and investors,” Mr. Friedland added.

“Additional exploration successes could have a significant influence on the scale, value and

timing of the overall development plan. Our Kamoa-Kakula plans will be reassessed and

amended as supported by our discoveries.”

Figure 2. Collar location plan, showing depth to top of SMZ.

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Figure 3. Contours of copper grade for 1% composites.

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Figure 4. Contours of copper grade for 2% composites.

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Figure 5. Contours of true width for 1% composites.