SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

FORM 6-K

REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER
PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16 OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

From: March 12, 2008

IVANHOE MINES LTD.

(Translation of Registrant’s Name into English)

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

(Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.)

Form 20-F- o Form 40-F- þ

(Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information contained in this form is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.)

Yes: o No: þ

(If “Yes” is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): 82-                    .)

Enclosed:

Press release

 

 

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

March 12, 2008

IVANHOE MINES REPORTS AN INITIAL 760 MILLION TONNE
INFERRED RESOURCE ESTIMATE FOR THE HERUGA COPPER,
GOLD AND MOLYBDENUM DEPOSIT IN MONGOLIA

New estimate adds 13.4 million ounces of gold and 8 billion pounds
of copper to Oyu Tolgoi’s total inferred resources

ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA — John Macken, President and CEO of Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., and Charles Forster, Ivanhoe’s Senior Vice President of Exploration, Mongolia, today announced the first resource estimate made by Ivanhoe Mines for the Heruga copper, gold and molybdenum deposit in southern Mongolia. The Heruga Deposit adjoins the southern boundary of Ivanhoe Mines’ Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold development project and lies within the Javkhlant license, which is part of the Entrée Gold-Ivanhoe Mines joint-venture agreement area.

The Heruga Deposit is estimated to contain an inferred resource of 760 million tonnes grading 0.48% copper, 0.55g/t gold and 142 ppm molybdenum, for a copper equivalent grade of 0.91%, using a 0.60% copper equivalent cut-off grade. Based on this initial estimate, the Heruga Deposit is estimated to contain at least eight billion pounds of copper and 13.4 million ounces of gold.

Using a higher cut-off grade of 1% copper equivalent, the Heruga deposit contains inferred resources of 210 million tonnes grading 0.57% copper, 0.97g/t gold and 145 ppm molybdenum, totalling 2.6 billion pounds of copper and 6.4 million ounces of gold.

Thirty-four drill holes (including daughter holes) on nine sections spaced at 150-to 300-metre intervals, for a combined strike length of 1,800-metres, have been used in the resource estimate. The deposit is open ended, with one rig currently drilling on the northern most section of the deposit, 150 metres south of the Oyu Tolgoi boundary, in significant copper/gold mineralization.

The Oyu Tolgoi structural trend, as currently defined, now has a total strike length in excess of 20 kilometres, encompassing Oyu Tolgoi in the centre and extensions onto the joint Entrée/Ivanhoe agreement area to the south and north. From the Heruga Deposit in the south, the trend now extends through the Oyu Tolgoi deposits to the Ulaan Khud, or Airport North Zone, located approximately 10 kilometres north-northeast of the Hugo Dummett Deposit. The total Oyu Tolgoi Project resources, including those contained on the adjoining Shivee Tolgoi and Javkhlant properties, are shown in Table 2.

“Heruga may allow for considerably more flexibility in developing the massive Oyu Tolgoi deposits, as well as a molybdenum circuit in the mill,” said Mr. Macken. “It also may provide the basis for a significant extension, over time, to the milling operations.”

Table 1. Heruga Inferred Resources March 2008

Cut-off		Tonnage				Cu				Au				Mo				CuEq				Contained Metal
CuEq %		1000’s (t)				%				g/t				ppm				%				Cu (’000 lb)				Au (oz) (‘000)				CuEq (’000 lb)
>1.50			30,000				0.63				1.80				126				1.85				390,000				1,600				1,220,000
>1.25			80,000				0.59				1.39				124				1.54				970,000				3,400				2,710,000
>1.00			210,000				0.57				0.97				145				1.26				2,570,000				6,400				5,840,000
>0.90			300,000				0.55				0.84				150				1.16				3,600,000				8,000				7,700,000
>0.80			430,000				0.53				0.72				152				1.07				5,000,000				9,900				10,120,000
>0.70			590,000				0.51				0.62				148				0.98				6,590,000				11,700				12,750,000
>0.60			760,000				0.48				0.55				142				0.91				8,030,000				13,400				15,190,000
>0.50			930,000				0.45				0.50				135				0.84				9,220,000				14,900				17,270,000
>0.40			1,160,000				0.41				0.45				123				0.76				10,500,000				16,700				19,530,000
>0.30			1,420,000				0.37				0.40				111				0.69				11,670,000				18,200				21,530,000

Drill maps from the Heruga Deposit will be posted to Ivanhoe’s’ website at www.ivanhoemines.com and to Entrée’s web site at www.entreegold.com.

Discussion and Highlights of Mineral Resource Estimate and Recent Drilling

The current inferred resource estimate is based on a wide-spaced pattern that Ivanhoe believes has not fully delineated the higher grade gold-rich core. This may allow for a significant increase in gold-rich resources as infill drilling is undertaken.

On the southeast side of Heruga, hole EJD0026 was drilled 400 metres east of the defined mineral resource to test for a possible Hugo North-like zone that might have existed along the eastern margin of the deposit. While the hole did not intersect high-grade mineralization, it did encounter 300 metres grading 0.51 g/t gold, 0.33% copper and 102 ppm molybdenum, starting at 1,484 metres down hole. This included 104 metres at the top of the intersection grading 0.55 g/t gold, 0.56% copper and 233 ppm molybdenum, followed by 26 metres of dyke and 18 metres grading 1.24 g/t gold, 0.56% copper and 112 ppm molybdenum. The overall zone lies down dip, beyond the projection of the resource block model and, as a stand-alone intersection, was not included in this resource estimate. Infill drilling, which confirms grade continuity between the intersection and the resource block model, may significantly expand the inferred resource base in this area.

The deposit is open at both ends and, in part, on the southeastern side. EJD0028, which is drilling on the northern-most section, 4759500N, has intersected 24 metres starting at 1,118 metres down hole, grading 0.42 g/t gold, 0.71% copper and 306 ppm molybdenum. The remaining assays for the hole are pending; however, similar moderate-to-strong copper mineralization is reported in the hole to a depth of 1,550 metres. The hole is 200 metres east of EJD0025, which was included in the resource estimate, and had an intersection of 144 metres starting at 996 metres that averaged 0.20 g/t gold, 0.58% copper and 130 ppm molybdenum, followed by 20 metres of barren dyke and 54 metres of 0.15 g/t gold, 0.56% copper and 232 ppm molybdenum. The West Bor Tolgoi fault, which defines the western

limit of the currently defined deposit, was intersected at the base of the 52-metre interval. The East Bor Tolgoi fault, which defines the eastern limit of the deposit on its northern end, is projected approximately 300 metres further east of the top of the EJD0028 interval reported above.

Extending Heruga northward, the Induced Polarization data, which have been a good indicator for the mineralization, suggest that the mineralized block between the two Bor Tolgoi faults could extend an additional 500 metres northeast onto the 100% Ivanhoe-owned Oyu Tolgoi mining license. Of even more interest, there are three northeast-trending, post mineral fault structures that cut across the northern end of the deposit. Ultimately, the deposit may extend approximately four kilometres further north to the southern end of the Southwest and South Oyu deposits, which abutted onto a similar aged, east-west fault referred to as the Solongo Fault. The IP shows a broad zone of increased chargeability along the four-kilometre trend.

Table 2: Total Oyu Tolgoi Project Resources March 2008⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾
(based on a 0.60% copper equivalent cut-off)⁽³⁾

																						Contained Metal(5)
Resource						Cu				Au				Mo				CuEq(4)				Cu				Au				CuEq(4)
Category		Tonnes				(%)				(g/t)				(ppm)				(%)				(‘000 lbs)				(ounces)				(‘000 lbs)
Measured			101,590,000				0.64				1.10				—				1.34				1,430,000				3,590,000				3,000,000
Indicated			1,285,840,000				1.38				0.42				—				1.65				39,120,000				17,360,000				46,770,000
Measured + Indicated			1,387,430,000				1.33				0.47				—				1.63				40,680,000				20,970,000				49,860,000
Inferred			2,157,130,000				0.80				0.35				50				1.05				38,230,000				24,220,000				50,050,000

Table 3: Recent Selected Assay Averages from Heruga drilling

		From				To				Interval				Au				Cu				Mo				Cu Eq
Hole Number		(m)				(m)				(m)				(g/t)				(%)				(ppm)				(%)
EJD0024			1252				1490				238				2.05				0.52				49				1.85
including			1280				1372				92				3.60				0.89				67				3.22
			1554				1614				60				1.17				0.30				32				1.07
overall			1252				1614				362				1.59				0.41				40				1.44
EJD0008A			1132				1310				178				0.20				0.62				299				0.91
			1382				1406				24				0.52				0.56				169				0.98
			1424				1494				70				0.95				0.38				41				1.01
			1584				1754				170				1.32				0.29				10				1.13
Overall			1132				1754				622				0.59				0.34				102				0.77
EJD0025			916				924				8				0.03				1.35				286				1.52
			996				1140				144				0.20				0.58				130				0.78
			1160				1214				54				0.15				0.56				232				0.78
EJD0026			1484				1588				104				0.55				0.56				233				1.04
			1614				1632				18				1.24				0.56				112				1.41
			1650				1684				34				0.79				0.31				39				0.84
			1692				1740				48				0.71				0.31				53				0.79
			1772				1784				12				0.92				0.38				45				0.98
Overall			1484				1784				300				0.51				0.33				102				0.71
EJD0027			852				998				146				0.25				0.70				234				0.98
			1016				1282				266				0.38				0.63				285				1.02
			1282				1390				108				1.26				0.66				53				1.49
			1422				1438				16				1.10				0.36				9.4				1.06
			1454				1660				206				0.96				0.36				19				0.98
Overall			852				1660				808				0.60				0.52				149				0.99

Note 1: Cu Equivalent calculated for $1.35/lb copper, $650/oz gold and $10/lb molybdenum

Note 2: Previous Press Releases used $1.15/b copper, $500/oz gold and $10/lb molybdenum for calculating Cu Equivalents CuEq=Cu%+((Au g/t*18.98)+(Mo ppm*0.01586))/29.76

Quality Assurance and Quality Control

Charles Forster, P.Geo., Ivanhoe Mines’ Oyu Tolgoi Exploration Manager, Stephen Torr, P. Geo., Ivanhoe Mines’ Chief Resource Geologist, and Robert Cann, P.Geo., Entrée’s Vice-President, Exploration, all qualified persons as defined by NI 43-101, supervised the preparation of the information in this release.

John Vann, Principal and Director, and Scott Jackson, Principal and Director of Quantitative Group, of Perth, Australia, performed an independent audit at the Oyu Tolgoi site on

Ivanhoe’s exploration practices and resource estimation parameters and found them to be in line with industry best practices.

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. In-house, matrix-matched copper-gold-molybdenum standards and blanks are inserted at the sample preparation lab on the project site to monitor the quality control of the assay data.

Ivanhoe Mines currently has a 60% participating interest in the Ivanhoe- Entrée joint venture, which covers approximately 40,000 hectares of Entrée’s 100%-owned Shivee Tolgoi property (which includes the Javkhlant license), adjacent to Ivanhoe’s Oyu Tolgoi property. Ivanhoe earned the 60% interest by completing more than US$27.5 million of aggregate earn-in expenditures on the joint-venture properties to date. Ivanhoe intends to continue incurring earn-in expenditures in accordance with the terms of the joint-venture agreement with a view to increasing its participating interest in the project. Subject to Ivanhoe spending a total of US$35 million on exploration and/or development on the joint-venture properties prior to November 2012, Ivanhoe will earn:

	•		an 80% participating interest in all minerals extracted below a sub-surface depth of 560 metres on the optioned property; and
	•		a 70% participating interest in all minerals extracted from surface to a depth of 560 metres.

Ivanhoe also owns approximately 15% of the outstanding shares of Entrée Gold (TSX:ETG; AMEX:EGI). Ivanhoe’s strategic partner in the development of the Oyu Tolgoi Project, Rio Tinto, owns approximately 16% of the outstanding shares of Entrée Gold.

Ivanhoe Mines shares are listed on the Toronto, New York and NASDAQ stock exchanges under the symbol IVN.

Information contacts

Ivanhoe Mines Investor Relations: Bill Trenaman; Media: Bob Williamson +1.604.688.5755

Forward-Looking Statements — 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. Readers are referred to the sections entitled “Risk Factors” in Ivanhoe Mines’ periodic filings with Canadian and US Securities Commissions.