The Mongolian Government announced on Thursday that it had confirmed that the procedural and administrative conditions contained in the Oyu Tolgoi Investment Agreement had been satisfied within the allocated six-month period that has followed the agreement”s official signing on October 6, 2009. “The completion of the Investment Agreement as part of the coalition government action program to develop the largest mine in Mongolia”s history will allow this ‘Centennial Development Project’ to give a significant boost to the economic and financial development of Mongolia, create large-scale infrastructure projects and the establishment of new urban centers and improve the livelihoods of Mongolian families,” the Government statement said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Rio Tinto announced, “The agreement has taken full and binding effect.” Mr. Andrew Harding, Chief Executive of Rio Tinto”s Copper Group, said, “We plan to be a partner in Mongolia for decades to come and are looking forward to moving into the development phase of the project.”

In a separate statement on Thursday, Mr. Robert Friedland, Executive Chairman of Ivanhoe Mines, and Mr. John Macken, President and Chief Executive Officer, welcomed the successful completion of the conditions precedent that had been incorporated into the landmark agreement, which now has taken full legal effect.

Mr. Friedland said, “After nine years of discoveries at Oyu Tolgoi, a big piece of the future of copper and gold in Asia is poised to become a reality. With this Investment Agreement taking full effect, we now have a long-term partnership and a definitive blueprint to start building that future at Oyu Tolgoi.”

He said the participation of Rio Tinto guarantees that the world”s best mining and environmental practices and some of the most advanced mining technologies will be applied to the Project. Rio Tinto currently owns 22.4% of Ivanhoe Mines and holds options to increase that interest to 46.6% during the next 19 months.

Construction budget for 2010 establishes timeline for first copper-gold production in 2013. In anticipation of the successful satisfaction of the conditions precedent in the Investment Agreement, the joint Ivanhoe Mines-Rio Tinto Technical Committee has already approved a USD758-million budget to launch full-scale construction of the Oyu Tolgoi complex in the second quarter of 2010.

“Oyu Tolgoi will be one of the world”s greatest mining centers,” Mr. Macken said. “Our discoveries, combined with the application of the Zeus induced-polarization exploration technology and our ongoing exploration drilling, mean that Oyu Tolgoi still will be powering Mongolia“s economy a century from now.”

To the end of 2009, Ivanhoe Mines had invested approximately USD1 billion in the exploration and development of Oyu Tolgoi since acquiring the exploration licenses in 2000. An estimated additional USD4 billion will be required from the project”s partners to build and commission the mining complex.