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 is proceeding with the sinking of a bulk-sample
shaft to access the underground Flatreef platinum, palladium, nickel, copper,
gold and rhodium discovery at its Platreef Project in South Africa's Bushveld
Complex. 


The South African government's Department of Mineral Resources has notified
Ivanhoe Mines of its approval of the planned bulk-sampling procedure.


Contractor mobilization and site preparation for the 7.25-metre-diameter Shaft
#1 will begin in Q4 2013 and approximately 250 contract employees will be
working on the shaft once the sinking work begins. The vertical shaft will
extend to a depth below surface of 800 metres and facilitate the collection of a
mineralized bulk sample in the second half of 2015 to complete the company's
development assessment of the Flatreef. 


Shaft #1 is expected to cost US$80 million (ZAR 818 million), which is expected
to be fully funded from the approximately US$180 million in dedicated funds
remaining in Ivanhoe's treasury from the US$280 million received in 2011 for the
sale of an 8% interest in the Platreef Project to a Japanese consortium of
Itochu Corporation, Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) and
JGC Corporation. 


Ivanhoe Mines is working with the Japanese consortium on an integrated Flatreef
development plan based on an exclusively underground mining operation of up to
12 million tonnes per year utilizing multiple shafts. The study is expected to
be completed late this year or early next year.


"This is a very significant development in the life of our South African
project," said Mr. Friedland. "After 18 years of determined exploration that
produced this truly amazing discovery, the sinking of the bulk-sample shaft is a
crucial step in moving the Flatreef Discovery toward production as a
state-of-the-art underground mine. We are at the stage where we need get
underground and obtain a bulk sample from the mineral deposit to confirm
Flatreef's metallurgy and mining characteristics to help us finalize our design
and operations planning.


"Together with our Japanese partners and our South African employees, we look
forward to the day when we can take our stakeholders and investors underground
to show them firsthand the incredible thickness, grades and continuity of the
Flatreef platinum, palladium, nickel, copper, gold and rhodium mineralization.


"We're committed to working with all stakeholders to create much-needed jobs and
contribute significantly to the socio-economic development of our host
communities, the surrounding Limpopo region and South Africa as a whole as we
advance through construction and launch initial production."


Aveng Mining is shaft-sinking contractor

South Africa-based Aveng Mining is the sinking contractor for Shaft #1 and has
been working on shaft engineering and design since June 2013.


Mr. Friedland said that given the Flatreef Deposit's remarkably thick
mineralized zones, Ivanhoe Mines is committed to ensuring that its underground
operations will be at the forefront of safe, new mining technology. 


"Compared to an open-pit mine, the planned mine at Flatreef will have a greatly
reduced surface footprint because the majority of the mine's operations,
including workshops, crushers and other infrastructure, will be underground,"
Mr. Friedland added.


"We believe that the unique characteristics of our Flatreef Discovery offer us
the opportunity to take a quantum leap forward in the application of ethical
mining practices, providing for a highly-mechanized, automated and safe working
environment for a new generation of skilled and trained South African workers.


"The extraordinary utility afforded by platinum and palladium, particularly
their use in catalytic converters in motor vehicles and fuel cells, combined
with growing calls for improved air quality from countries around the world,
means there will be expanding demand for these metals. South Africa is blessed
with an enormous resource endowment of platinum and palladium and Ivanhoe Mines,
with its discovery of the Flatreef mineral system, expects to be at the
forefront of a resurgent South African PGMs industry in the decades to come." 


Mr. Johansson said that when the shaft sinking begins, the Platreef Project will
directly employ approximately 550 workers, including full-time staff, drillers
and shaft sinking contractors. "Ivanhoe will continue to encourage our
contractors to employ men and women from our host communities and once the
Platreef Mining Right is granted, employment at the project should increase
significantly as the mine development and construction ramps up. 


"Our intention is to build a world-class underground mine for many decades to
come. Eventually the project could create some 10,000 direct and indirect jobs,
and will considerably stimulate the local and regional economies."


Platreef Mining Right Application filed in June 2013

In June 2013, Ivanhoe Mines filed a Mining Right Application (MRA) for the
Platreef Project with the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR). A Mining Right
allows a company to mine and process minerals optimally from the mining area for
a maximum period of 30 years, which may be extended upon application. 


The company has begun the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA)
process. The MRA review will involve a thorough assessment of Ivanhoe's
Environmental Management Program, Social and Labour Plan and Mining Work
Program, which must be filed with the DMR by February 24, 2014. The ESIA will
engage with all interested stakeholders, including local communities and
governments. 


Current drilling focus on advancing technical studies and expanding resources 

Ivanhoe Mines has 11 drill rigs at the Platreef Project, with 10 rigs drilling
metallurgical/geo-technical holes and one exploration rig targeting a potential
contiguous, high-grade mineralized zone to the southeast of Flatreef's Zone 1.
The exploration drilling program is focused on delineating the exploration
target - Ga-Madiba - that is believed to represent the southern continuation of
the shallow Flatreef underground deposit. The company is adding another four
rigs to the exploration drilling program.


The Platreef Project is a Tier One discovery of platinum-group elements, nickel,
copper and gold which contains the Flatreef underground deposit, on the
Bushveld's Northern Limb, north of the town of Mokopane and approximately 280
kilometres northeast of Johannesburg. The project is located on two contiguous
rights, Turfspruit and Macalacaskop, which adjoin Anglo Platinum's Mogalakwena
mining operations.


The Flatreef Mineral Resource, with a strike length of six kilometres,
predominantly lies within a flat to gently dipping portion of the Platreef
mineralized belt at relatively shallow depths of approximately 700 to 1,100
metres below surface. 


The Flatreef Deposit is characterized by its very large vertical thicknesses of
high-grade mineralization and the platinum-to-palladium ratio of approximately
1:1, which is significantly higher than other PGMs discoveries on northern limb
of the Bushveld. The grade shells used to constrain mineralization in the
Flatreef Indicated Resource area have average true thicknesses of approximately
24 metres at a 2 g/t 3PE (platinum-palladium-gold) cut-off grade, with an
equivalent average resource grade of 4.1 g/t 4PE
(platinum-palladium-gold-rhodium), 0.34% nickel and 0.17% copper. Flatreef's
Indicated Mineral Resources of 214 million tonnes contain an estimated 28.5
million ounces of platinum, palladium, gold and rhodium, 1.6 billion pounds of
nickel and 800 million pounds of copper. 


At the same cut-off of 2 g/t 4PE, the latest Flatreef estimate includes Inferred
Mineral Resources of 415 million tonnes grading 3.5 g/t 4PE, 0.33% nickel and
0.16% copper, containing an estimated additional 47.2 million ounces of
platinum, palladium, gold and rhodium, 3.0 billion pounds of nickel and 1.5
billion pounds of copper.


Qualified Person

The scientific and technical information in this release has been reviewed and
approved by Stephen Torr, Ivanhoe Mines' Vice President, Project Geology and
Evaluation, a Qualified Person under the terms of National Instrument 43-101.
For information about data verification measures used to support the scientific
and technical information, please refer to the current technical report on the
Platreef Project on the SEDAR profile of Ivanhoe Mines at www.sedar.com.


In March 2013, Ivanplats received a new independent Technical Report for the
Flatreef Deposit. The Technical Report, prepared by AMEC in accordance with CIM
Guidelines and directed by AMEC Technical Director Dr. Harry Parker, is
available at www.ivanhoemines.com and www.sedar.com.


About Ivanhoe Mines

Ivanhoe Mines (TSX:IVN) (formerly Ivanplats, TSX: IVP), with offices in Canada,
the United Kingdom and South Africa, is advancing and developing its three
principal projects: 




--  The Kamoa copper discovery in a previously unknown extension of the
    Central African Copperbelt in the DRC's Province of Katanga. 
    
--  The Platreef Discovery of platinum, palladium nickel, copper, gold and
    rhodium on the Northern Limb of the Bushveld Complex in South Africa. 
    
--  The historic, high-grade Kipushi zinc-copper-germanium mine, also on the
    Copperbelt in the DRC and now being dewatered and upgraded to support a
    future return to production of copper, zinc and other metals following a
    care-and-maintenance program conducted between 1993 and 2011. 



Ivanhoe Mines also is evaluating other opportunities as part of its objective to
become a broadly based international mining company.


FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS 

Statements in this release that are forward-looking statements are subject to
various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed here
and elsewhere in the company's periodic filings with Canadian securities
regulators. When used in this document, the words such as "could," "plan,"
"estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "potential," "should" and similar
expressions, are forward-looking statements. Information provided in this
document is necessarily summarized and may not contain all available material
information.


Statements in this release that constitute forward-looking statements or
information include, but are not limited to: the expected cost of the shaft; the
expectation that the shaft costs will be funded by monies remaining from the
Japanese Consortium's $280 million investment; that contractor mobilization and
the earthworks for the shaft will begin in Q4 2013; the depth of the bulk sample
shaft to 800 metres; the size of the bulk sample of Flatreef mineralization to
be obtained; the plan that the Flatreef underground operations will be at the
forefront of safe, new mining technology; the expected number of jobs the
project could eventually create; the intention to build a world-class
underground mine which Ivanhoe believes will be sustainable for many decades to
come; and the planned mine at Flatreef will have a greatly reduced surface
footprint compared to an open-pit mine.


All such forward-looking information and statements are based on certain
assumptions and analyses made by Ivanhoe Mines' management in light of their
experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected
future developments, as well as other factors management believes are
appropriate in the circumstances. These statements, however, are subject to a
variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual
events or results to differ materially from those projected in the
forward-looking information or statements. Important factors that could cause
actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements include those
described under the heading "Risks and Uncertainties" in the company's most
recently filed MD&A. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on
forward-looking information or statements.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: 
Investors
Bill Trenaman
+1.604.331.9834


Media
North America: Bob Williamson +1.604.512.4856
South Africa: Jeremy Michaels +27.11.088.4300
www.ivanhoemines.com
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