Ivanhoe’s Kipushi zinc mine in the DRC officially reopens
The restart marked exactly a century since the mine first went into production.
Ivanhoe Electric (NYSE American: IE) (TSX: IE) said on Monday the preliminary feasibility study (PFS) for its Santa Cruz copper project in Casa Grande, Arizona, is halfway complete and on track to be delivered in the second quarter of 2025.
Santa Cruz is a proposed mining operation encompassing 5,975 acres of private land, including associated water rights. In June 2024, the City of Casa Grande gave approval to amend nearly 3,000 acres of this land for industrial use, representing a major milestone for its permitting process.
Ivanhoe Electric acquired its land title in May 2023 for $116 million, and recently gained full ownership of the mineral rights comprising the project after taking up its purchase option.
An initial assessment in September 2023 outlined a small surface footprint, underground copper mine at Santa Cruz with 5.9 million tonnes of annual production over a 20-year mine life, focusing on the high-grade Santa Cruz and East Ridge deposits.
According to Ivanhoe Electric, the PFS is being conducted under the standards of US Regulation S-K 1300, and will include a mine plan that will be supported by a new mineral resource and reserve estimate resulting from infill drilling and testwork activities.
Since late 2022, the company has conducted 120,000 metres of drilling on the project, leading to a current resource totalling 2.8 million tonnes of copper in the indicated category (226.7 million tonnes grading 1.24% total copper) and 1.8 million tonnes of copper in the inferred category (149 million tonnes grading 1.24% total copper).
Assays from the recently completed development drill program include 99.4 metres at 2.39% total copper from 738 metres, including 46.1 metres at 3.99% total copper; and 140.1 metres at 1.56% total copper from 753.4 meters, including 29 metres at 2.92% total copper from 799 metres.
These results will be used in the resource update and support the upcoming PFS, said Ivanhoe, adding that studies focused on process design and optimization, power, water management, and environmental/permitting are also ongoing.
Ivanhoe Electric’s shares traded 1.2% higher by 11 a.m. ET Monday, for a market capitalization of $915 million.
