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

IVANHOE MINES LTD.

(Translation of Registrant’s Name into English)

Suite 654 — 999 CANADA PLACE, VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA V6C 3E1

(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:

News Release

 

 

March 14, 2011

New copper-molybdenum-gold zone discovered
on Ivanhoe Mines-BHP Billiton joint venture licence
approximately 10 kilometres north of Oyu Tolgoi

Discovery extends the known strike length of the Oyu Tolgoi
mineralized system to 23 kilometres

Pre-mining agreement concluded with Government of Mongolia

ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA — Robert Friedland, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., and Richard Gosse, Vice-President, Exploration, announced today that Ivanhoe and BHP Billiton Ltd. have discovered a new zone of shallow copper-molybdenum-gold mineralization approximately 10 kilometres north of the Ivanhoe Mines Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mining complex currently under construction in southern Mongolia.

The discovery, known as Ulaan Khud North, extends the known strike length of the Oyu Tolgoi mineralized system by an additional three kilometres to the north, to more than 23 kilometres.

Less than half of the 23-kilometre-long mineralized trend at Oyu Tolgoi has been extensively drill-tested to date. An ongoing exploration program including proprietary, induced-polarization (IP) technology has identified additional exploration and development targets.

“The Ulaan Khud North discovery reinforces our longstanding belief that with continued exploration there is excellent potential to discover new porphyry deposits, rich in copper and gold, which are associated with the world-class Oyu Tolgoi mineralized trend,” said Mr. Friedland.

Ulaan Khud North is located on a 19,625-hectare exploration licence that is part of Ivanhoe’s joint-venture partnership with BHP Billiton, which was formed in 2005. BHP Billiton has earned a 50% interest in the joint venture, which includes the Ulaan Khud North property, by spending US$8 million in exploration costs and conducting an airborne survey using the proprietary Falcon^TM gravity gradiometer system over the Oyu Tolgoi area.

A total of 25 drill holes (UKD031 to 055) totalling 6,561 metres, ranging in depth from 182 metres to 377 metres, defined the new zone of shallow porphyry copper mineralization over an area of 600 metres by 300 metres. Most of the holes are vertical and were drilled on a 100-metre-square grid. The mineralized zone starts beneath 60 to 80 metres of Cretaceous clay and gravels, indicative of a near-surface deposit with open-pit mining potential. Ivanhoe’s geologists believe that the near-surface copper mineralization discovered to date at Ulaan Khud North may be part of a much larger deposit.

Mineralization occurs in quartz monzodiorite, similar to mineralized quartz monzodiorites at Oyu Tolgoi. A total of 23 of the 25 drill holes drilled at Ulaan Khud North intersected the mineralized quartz monzodiorite. The mineralization is porphyry-style stockwork, disseminations and massive veins of chalcopyrite, with molybdenite disseminations and veinlets and trace bornite. Many holes encountered mineralization with greater than 1% copper in multiple individual one-metre samples, while almost all holes have longer intervals of mineralization grading greater than 0.3% copper. Numerous post-mineral intrusive rocks cut the mineralized quartz monzodiorite and define the boundaries of most mineralized intervals. (Photos of mineralization found at Ulaan Khud North are attached.)

“The presence of intensively mineralized and altered quartz monzodiorite and basalt xenoliths within the moderately mineralized quartz monzodiorite supports the idea that an earlier phase of stronger mineralization exists at depth and along margins of the area,” said Mr. Gosse.

Highlights include:

Hole No.		From (m)		To (m)		Len. (m)		Cu (%)		Au (g/t)		Mo (%)		eCu%
UKD031		155.00		174.00		19.00		0.941		0.098		0.029		1.158
UKD032		171.10		181.00		9.90		1.410		0.248		0.042		1.793
UKD034		91.00		97.00		6.00		1.094		0.165		0.037		1.396
UKD039		187.75		191.05		3.30		1.357		0.140		0.081		1.878
UKD045		208.10		217.70		9.60		2.429		0.121		0.149		3.300
UKD045		289.00		293.00		4.00		1.156		0.063		0.049		1.457
UKD046		174.35		182.00		7.65		2.242		0.203		0.081		2.803

The equivalent grade was calculated using assumed metal prices of US$1.35/lb for copper, US$650/oz for gold and US$10/lb for molybdenum. For convenience, the formula is: CuEq% = Cu% + ((Au g/t*18.98)+(Mo %*158.6))/29.76.

A full list of intercepts using a 0.2% copper cut-off is shown in Table 1. The true widths of mineralization and post-mineral dykes have yet to be established.

The mineralization at Ulaan Khud North starts as shallow as 60 metres below surface, much higher than the mineralized zone at Hugo Dummett to the south. The fact that Ulaan Khud North occurs in similar Devonian host rocks to Hugo Dummett suggests that the main Oyu Tolgoi porphyry system trend is relatively shallow in this area and that potential for surface-mineable targets still exist within the Oyu Tolgoi trend and Ulaan Khud North in particular.

The Ulaan Khud North property adjoins the Shivee Tolgoi Entrée Gold—Ivanhoe Mines joint-venture property and is about three kilometres north of mineralization found at Ulaan Khud on that licence.

Three-Year Pre-Mining Agreement Received

The Pre-Mining Agreement for the Ulaan Khud North property specifies that Ivanhoe and BHP Billiton have three years to conduct additional exploration, complete an environmental impact study, prepare a final feasibility study and gain approval for the design for the project. The agreement also specifies that a Technical and Economical Study to mine the deposit is required to be delivered to the Mineral Resources Authority of Mongolia (MRAM) by June 30, 2013.

“The Pre-Mining Agreement provides a three-year window to aggressively explore the project and to prepare resource, technical and economic studies. It also paves the way for the Ulaan Khud North Project to obtain all necessary mining permits and approvals,” said Mr. Gosse.

Quality Assurance and Quality Control

Stephen Torr, P.Geo., Ivanhoe Mines’ Mineral Resource Manager and a qualified person as required by NI 43-101, supervised the preparation of the information in this news release. The sampling program used at the Ulaan Khud North project comprised collection of core samples taken on one-metre intervals in mineralized zones and two-metre intervals in non-mineralized post-mineral dykes, excluding dykes that extend more than five metres along the core length. Samples of one-half of HQ core were taken for assaying. The core was marked with a continuous cutting line along the middle, parallel to the long axis, to prevent a sampling bias during splitting. Splitting was done with a rock saw flushed continually with water. Samples were placed in cloth bags, sealed with numbered security tags, quality control samples were inserted for monitoring of the assay data and all samples were sent to SGS Mongolia LLC for preparation and assaying. Each batch of 20 samples contained one Standard Reference material, certified for copper-gold, one Field Blank, one Core Duplicate and one Pulp or Crush Duplicate. All samples were assayed for gold, copper, molybdenum, arsenic, silver, lead and zinc.

Upon receipt of assay results, values for Standard Reference Material samples and Field Blanks were tabulated and compared to those from an established Round Robin program. Assay results that deviated from the Round Robin program results beyond pre-set tolerance limits were rejected and subject to re-assay. Check assays were conducted on a regular basis at the rate of one per batch of 20 samples.

About Ivanhoe Mines

Ivanhoe Mines (IVN: NYSE, NASDAQ & TSX) is an international mining company with operations focused in the Asia Pacific region. Assets include the company’s 66% interest in the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine development project in southern Mongolia; its 57% interest in Mongolian coal miner SouthGobi Resources (SGQ: TSX; 1878: HK); a 62% interest in Ivanhoe Australia (IVA: ASX & TSX), a copper-gold-uranium-molybdenum-rhenium exploration and development company; and a 50% interest in Altynalmas Gold Ltd., a private company developing the Kyzyl Gold Project in Kazakhstan.

Information contacts

Investors: Bill Trenaman +1.604.688.5755 / Media: Bob Williamson +1.604.331.9830 Website: www.ivanhoemines.com

Forward-looking statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that relate to future events such as Ivanhoe’s intent to continue drilling at the Oyu Tolgoi Project. 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. Forward- looking statements within this release include, but are not limited to the 2011 exploration program for the Ulaan Khud North Project. 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 almost always will 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 U.S. Securities Commissions.

Hole UKD031 — 166.92 to 172.16: Porphyry mineralization in medium-grained quartz monzodiorite (QMD) with strong hematite+albite, K-feldspar-magnetite alteration overprinted by epidote and cross cut by stockwork of quartz veins (5-10%). Disseminated chalcopyrite and molybdenite increasing with depth (to bottom right) from 1% to 8% in vein/veinlets and altered QMD. Assays for 1m samples are:

From		To		Metres		Copper		Gold		Molybdenum
167.00		168.00		1.00		0.472		0.040		0.0034
168.00		169.00		1.00		0.341		0.020		0.0165
169.00		170.00		1.00		0.921		0.910		0.1130
170.00		171.00		1.00		2.34		0.190		0.1860
171.00		172.00		1.00		2.96		0.170		0.0804

Hole UKD045 — 217-217.7m: Semi-massive sulphide (chalcopyrite-pyrite-molybdenite) locally brecciated in quartz monzodiorite (QMD) with intense silica-magnetite alteration. Assay for the 70 cm interval: 10.1% Cu, 0.61 % Mo, 0.64 g/t Au.

Hole UKD045 — 289-290m: Chalcopyrite-pyrite-magnetite bearing silica/quartz vein cut by 1-3mm wide molybdenite vein in altered QMD. Assay for the 1m interval: 1.24% Cu, 0.15 % Mo, 0.10 g/t Au.

Table 1. Significant Drill Results from Ulaan Khud.

Hole No.		From (m)				To (m)				Len. (m)				Cu (%)				Au (g/t)				Mo (%)				eCu%
UKD031			150.80				184.85				34.05				0.652				0.061				0.022				0.809
including			155.00				174.00				19.00				0.941				0.098				0.029				1.158
UKD032			72.00				102.00				30.00				0.266				0.024				0.019				0.385
including			93.00				102.00				9.00				0.535				0.029				0.042				0.779
and			127.50				204.00				76.50				0.354				0.056				0.014				0.462
including			171.10				181.00				9.90				1.410				0.248				0.042				1.793
UKD033			162.00				175.00				13.00				0.200				0.003				0.008				0.244
UKD034			89.60				198.00				108.40				0.249				0.033				0.006				0.302
including			91.00				97.00				6.00				1.094				0.165				0.037				1.396
UKD035			132.80				138.00				5.20				0.204				0.022				0.006				0.247
UKD036			90.90				222.00				131.10				0.213				0.012				0.007				0.261
including			139.30				147.00				7.70				0.777				0.036				0.023				0.923
UKD037			71.00				150.00				79.00				0.260				0.019				0.005				0.298
including			72.00				78.00				6.00				0.821				0.041				0.004				0.866
including			88.00				95.20				7.20				0.595				0.031				0.010				0.665
including			137.40				144.50				7.10				0.597				0.033				0.010				0.673
and			180.20				206.00				25.80				0.222				0.015				0.007				0.270
and			227.75				252.80				25.05				0.202				0.024				0.006				0.246
and			287.00				315.00				28.00				0.343				0.034				0.007				0.400
UKD038			63.20				90.00				26.80				0.274				0.053				0.003				0.324
and			99.80				135.05				35.25				0.268				0.012				0.004				0.295
and			183.00				212.15				29.15				0.310				0.016				0.028				0.468
including			198.00				205.00				7.00				0.528				0.033				0.040				0.763
UKD039			187.75				212.90				25.15				0.269				0.025				0.016				0.370
including			187.75				191.05				3.30				1.357				0.140				0.081				1.878
UKD040			73.50				106.45				32.95				0.203				0.009				0.002				0.218
including			88.10				91.60				3.50				0.765				0.016				0.008				0.820
and			171.00				177.25				6.25				0.386				0.032				0.009				0.455
and			201.00				206.00				5.00				0.288				0.026				0.010				0.356
UKD041			173.05				182.00				8.95				0.253				0.013				0.008				0.302
and			221.80				297.10				75.30				0.296				0.057				0.011				0.391
including			239.87				247.00				7.13				0.548				0.308				0.030				0.902
including			270.00				280.00				10.00				0.524				0.033				0.012				0.609
UKD042			92.00				141.65				49.65				0.249				0.013				0.004				0.279
including			94.00				100.00				6.00				0.615				0.045				0.015				0.722
and			175.50				216.40				40.90				0.206				0.018				0.006				0.248
UKD043			95.80				101.15				5.35				0.330				0.019				0.004				0.366
and			116.00				129.00				13.00				0.262				0.014				0.004				0.294
and			172.25				179.90				7.65				0.268				0.016				0.008				0.319
and			193.10				204.60				11.50				0.293				0.038				0.012				0.380
and			224.50				230.00				5.50				0.303				0.046				0.003				0.349
UKD044		No significant intersections
UKD045			105.00				159.25				54.25				0.350				0.021				0.011				0.421
including			111.00				116.85				5.85				0.612				0.041				0.018				0.732
including			148.00				159.25				11.25				0.735				0.043				0.025				0.897
and			188.15				217.70				29.55				0.928				0.048				0.054				1.244
including			208.10				217.70				9.60				2.429				0.121				0.149				3.300
and			265.20				327.00				61.80				0.232				0.027				0.008				0.292
including			266.00				272.00				6.00				0.603				0.187				0.006				0.755
including			289.00				293.00				4.00				1.156				0.063				0.049				1.457

Hole No.		From (m)				To (m)				Len. (m)				Cu (%)				Au (g/t)				Mo (%)				eCu%
UKD046			75.30				79.35				4.05				0.559				0.020				0.003				0.590
and			107.80				141.20				33.40				0.255				0.013				0.002				0.276
and			170.35				218.00				47.65				0.579				0.048				0.026				0.748
including			174.35				182.00				7.65				2.242				0.203				0.081				2.803
and			244.00				377.00				133.00				0.243				0.014				0.006				0.286
including			341.00				345.60				4.60				0.501				0.026				0.017				0.609
UKD047			163.00				217.00				54.00				0.207				0.016				0.012				0.283
and			225.75				237.20				11.45				0.222				0.018				0.018				0.332
UKD048		No significant intersections
UKD049		No significant intersections
UKD050			95.65				104.80				9.15				0.229				0.037				0.006				0.286
UKD051			126.00				133.40				7.40				0.265				0.012				0.001				0.280
and			151.70				174.85				23.15				0.442				0.042				0.018				0.566
including			161.25				166.00				4.75				0.773				0.096				0.022				0.952
and			198.50				205.15				6.65				0.593				0.011				0.008				0.640
UKD052		No significant intersections
UKD053			226.00				229.25				3.25				0.408				0.027				0.007				0.461
and			234.10				240.20				6.10				0.201				0.029				0.004				0.240
UKD054			251.00				255.60				4.60				0.219				0.035				0.001				0.246
UKD055			192.00				201.35				9.35				0.347				0.021				0.012				0.424
and			241.90				312.00				70.10				0.254				0.136				0.031				0.509

The equivalent grade was calculated using assumed metal prices of US$1.35/lb for copper, US$650/oz for gold and US$10/lb for molybdenum. For convenience, the formula is: CuEq% = Cu% + ((Au g/t*18.98)+(Mo %*158.6))/29.76

Table 2. Coordinates of Ulaan Khud drill hole collars.

																										Depth				Depth
Hole		UTM				UTM				Elevation				Azimuth				Dip				Depth				PCD				Diamond
Number		East				North				(m)				Degrees				Degrees				(m)				(m)				(m)
UKD031			654500				4778600				1164.6				0				90				255.7				51.0				204.7
UKD032			654600				4778600				1164.2				0				90				360.6				71.1				289.5
UKD033			654600				4778500				1164.2				0				90				194.8				75.0				119.8
UKD034			654400				4778400				1165.0				0				90				215.1				60.1				155.0
UKD035			654400				4778500				1165.5				0				90				248.2				54				194.2
UKD036			654400				4778600				1165.8				0				90				282.3				63				219.3
UKD037			654600				4778700				1165.8				0				90				357.4				63				294.4
UKD038			654500				4778700				1165.8				0				90				294.2				63				231.2
UKD039			654600				4778597				1164.2				270				50				251.2				90				161.2
UKD040			654700				4778600				1164.2				0				90				230.5				73.5				157
UKD041			654700				4778700				1164.2				0				90				300.2				66				234.2
UKD042			654500				4778400				1165.4				0				90				218.4				66				152.4
UKD043			654600				4778400				1165.4				0				90				256.5				66				190.5
UKD044			654400				4778700				1165.4				0				90				182.5				69.8				112.7
UKD045			654500				4778800				1165.4				0				90				342.7				67.1				275.6
UKD046			654500				4778900				1165.4				0				90				377.0				66.3				310.7
UKD047			654600				4778800				1165.4				0				90				301.3				66				235.35
UKD048			654500				4779100				1165.4				0				90				216.7				81				135.7
UKD049			654600				4778900				1165.4				0				90				183.5				66.73				116.77
UKD050			654400				4778900				1165.4				0				90				198				78.5				119.5
UKD051			654550				4779000				1165.4				0				90				273.5				80				193.5
UKD052			654700				4779000				1165.4				0				90				189.5				81				108.5
UKD053			654800				4778900				1165.4				0				90				261.8				75.15				186.65
UKD054			654800				4778700				1165.4				0				90				257				75				182
UKD055			654700				4778800				1165.4				0				90				312.7				72				240.7

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.