Name of the Project
Santa Cruz underground copper mine.

Location
Arizona, in the US.

Project Owner/s
Ivanhoe Electric.

Project Description
The Santa Cruz copper project is poised to become one of the US’s next major domestic producers of refined copper. The highly engineered preliminary economic assessment (June 2025) confirms the strong economics of a high-quality, high-grade underground copper mining operation and heap-leach processing facility supported by modern technologies.

The project has estimated probable mineral reserves of 136-million tonnes at a grade of 1.08% copper totalling 1.5-million tonnes of contained copper supporting a 23-year mine life.

The mine plan supports a 100% heap-leach process producing 1.36-million tonnes of copper cathode over 23 years, with average production of 72 000 t/y of copper cathode estimated during the first 15 years of mining.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a life-of-mine after-tax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $1.38-billion and an internal rate of return 20%, with a payback of 4.4 years.

Capital Expenditure
Initial capital is estimated at $1.24-billion.

Planned Start/End Date
Initial construction is targeted for the first half of 2026, with first copper cathode production projected in 2028 and ramp-up to full production from 2029.

Latest Developments
None stated.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Fluor Canada (project lead for the PEA, surface infrastructure and heap-leach pads); BBA USA Inc (resources, reserves, underground mine planning and economic analysis); KCB Consultants (heap leaching), Paterson & Cooke USA (paste backfill); Met Engineering (metallurgical testing); and INTERA Incorporated (hydrogeology).

Contact Details for Project Information
Ivanhoe Electric, tel +1 604 689 8765 or email info@ivanhoeelectric.com.