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News
Ivanhoe's Development Plan Confirms Expansion of Entree's Copper Flats Mineralization
October 4, 2005
Vancouver, B.C., Tuesday October 4, 2005 - Entrée Gold Inc. (TSX-V: ETG; AMEX: EGI - “Entrée” or the “Company”) comments on recent announcements by Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (NYSE: IVN; TSX: IVN; - “Ivanhoe”), including its Integrated Development Plan (“IDP”) for the Oyu Tolgoi copper/gold project, announced on September 29, 2005. These disclosures have significant implications for the Hugo North extension zone of mineralization currently being delineated on Entrée’s Copper Flats project area.
The IDP highlights progress on Oyu Tolgoi and outlines a development plan to bring into production a copper and gold mine with a projected life of 35 years. It is estimated that the mine will produce over 15 million tonnes (more than 33 billion pounds) of copper and over 11 million ounces of gold, at a cash cost of US$0.40 per pound of copper, or less, subject to gold hedging.
Ivanhoe’s recent announcements have several significant implications for Entrée’s Copper Flats project:
- The Hugo North deposit is now recognized as the richest of its kind in history and the gold:copper ratios and overall metal values in the vicinity of the Entrée-Ivanhoe property boundary are the highest in the entire deposit.
- The extension of the Hugo North deposit onto Copper Flats has now been traced for over 600 metres and remains open to the north and to depth. Drilling results, announced by Entree on September 28, 2005, confirmed the presence of additional, high-grade, copper/gold mineralization 175 metres north of the most northerly previous intersection.
- Ivanhoe has disclosed a targeted resource for current infill drilling at Copper Flats. It is expected that there will be sufficient drill density to estimate an inferred resource by year end for the mineralized system delineated to date.
- The continued extension of the high-grade mineralization at Copper Flats could support the development of a mine on the property.
Greg Crowe, Entrée’s President and CEO, commented: “The value of Copper Flats is increasing as the system grows with the continuing delineation of high-grade mineralization. The development of a separate mine at Copper Flats would be very significant for Entrée.”
Ivanhoe continues its aggressive exploration of Copper Flats, which currently includes both infill drilling to upgrade the potential copper/gold resource and expansion drilling to test the continued northern extension of mineralization.
QUALITY ASSURANCE AND CONTROL
Robert Cann, P.Geo., Entrée’s Vice-President, Exploration and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, is responsible for the preparation of technical information in the Company’s news releases. SGS Mongolia LLC prepares the split core at the project site and assays all samples at its facility in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Ivanhoe’s QA/QC program is monitored by independent consultant Dr. Barry Smee, P.Geo., and managed on site by Dale Sketchley, M.Sc., P.Geo. Prepared standards and blanks are inserted at the sample preparation lab at the project site to monitor the quality control of the assay data.
ABOUT ENTRÉE GOLD INC.
Entrée Gold Inc. (www.entreegold.com) is a mineral exploration company focused on gold and copper prospects. The Company is a large landholder in Mongolia’s south Gobi Desert, near the Chinese border. Entrée maintains 100% interest in the 179,590 hectare Lookout Hill (Shivee Tolgoi) property which completely surrounds Ivanhoe’s 8,500 hectare, Turquoise Hill (Oyu Tolgoi) holdings.
Under an “Earn-In Agreement” announced in October 2004, Ivanhoe has the right to earn an interest in approximately 22% (40,000 hectares) of Entrée’s Lookout Hill property. By the terms of the agreement, Ivanhoe must spend a minimum of US $20 million in order to earn any interest in the mineral rights to the project property and may acquire up to a 70% interest in mineralization above a depth of 560 metres and an 80% interest in mineralization below a depth of 560 metres by spending US$35 million. Thereafter, Entrée has the right to require Ivanhoe to fund its share of subsequent joint venture costs through to production, to be recovered from production cash flow.
Recent equity investments from Ivanhoe and Rio Tinto plc (NYSE: RTP; LSE: RIO.L – “Rio Tinto”), have increased the Company’s operating cash to approximately CDN$26 million and allowed it to expand its budgets for its independent exploration of its Lookout Hill and Ulziit Uul projects. The current program at Lookout Hill has been increased from US$3 million to an estimated US$5.1 million; while the program budget at Ulziit Uul has been increased from US$0.9 million to an estimated US$1.9 million.
Entrée is a Tier 1 listed company that trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol “ETG” and on the AMEX under the symbol “EGI”.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Primoris Group
Investor Relations
Tel: 866-368-7330
Email: [email protected]
or
Entrée Gold Inc.
Mona Forster, Business Manager
Tel: 604-687-4777
Website: www.entreegold.com
The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This news release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements which relate to future events. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may”, “should”, “expects”, “plans”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “estimates”, “predicts”, “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our or our industry’s actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.
While these forward-looking statements, and any assumptions upon which they are based, are made in good faith and reflect our current judgment regarding the direction of our business, actual results will almost always vary, sometimes materially, from any estimates, predictions, projections, assumptions or other future performance suggested herein. Except as required by applicable law, including the securities laws of the United States, the Company does not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform these statements to actual results. Readers are referred to the sections entitled “Risk Factors” in the Company’s periodic filings with the British Columbia Securities Commission, which can be viewed at www.SEDAR.com, and with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, which can be viewed at www.SEC.gov.