Ivanhoe Electric Adds the White Hill Copper Project in Nevada to its Portfolio of Highly-Prospective Critical Metals Exploration Projects Agreement to Explore and Earn an 80% Interest in the Project White Hill Hosts Verified Copper-Skarn Mineralization and Porphyry
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February 22, 2023
Ivanhoe Electric Adds the White Hill Copper Project in Nevada to its
Portfolio of Highly-Prospective Critical Metals Exploration Projects
Agreement to Explore and Earn an 80% Interest in the Project
White Hill Hosts Verified Copper-Skarn Mineralization and Porphyry
Copper-Molybdenum Potential
Ivanhoe Electric will Deploy its Proprietary Typhoon™ Technology
to White Hill
PHOENIX, ARIZONA – Ivanhoe Electric (NYSE American: IE; TSX: IE) President and
Chief Executive Officer Taylor Melvin is pleased to announce that Ivanhoe Electric has
entered into an earn-in and joint venture agreement (the “Agreement”) with privately-
owned Exiro Minerals to acquire up to an 80% interest in the White Hill Copper Project
in Nevada.
White Hill is located in the Gillis Range, Mineral County, Nevada, approximately 20 miles
east of Hawthorne and 100 miles southeast of Reno, Nevada. The Project is situated
within the Fitting Mining District and comprises 1,016 federal mineral claims covering
20,992 acres of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The Project hosts
demonstrated copper-bearing skarn-style mineralization.
Mr. Melvin commented: “The White Hill earn-in agreement expands Ivanhoe Electric’s
portfolio of high-quality, copper-focused exploration projects in the US. We believe
White Hill offers excellent prospectivity for a large-scale porphyry copper discovery in a
state with a prolific mining history. We are excited to deploy our Typhoon™ technology
and utilize our team’s extensive experience at White Hill.”
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The White Hill Project is in the World-Class Mining Jurisdiction of Nevada
According to the US Geological Survey (“USGS”), Nevada ranks in the top five for US
copper production, with approximately 163 million pounds produced in 2021. The White
Hill Project is located in western Nevada, which is considered prospective for large-
scale copper discoveries and has seen a recent increase in interest from major mining
companies. The Yerington porphyry-skarn district, located 55 miles northwest of the
White Hill Project, produced approximately 1.75 billion pounds of copper from 162
million tons of ore with an average grade of 0.54% copper between 1953 and 1996
(source: USGS).
Figure 1. Map showing the White Hill Project location and USGS listed porphyry
copper systems of Nevada.
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Historical Exploration and Development Potentially Indicative of a Larger
Mineralized System Located at Depth
Local prospectors discovered copper mineralization at White Hill in the late 1800s. By
1910, the London, UK-based Copper Hills Mining Corporation had sunk a 220-foot shaft,
driven a 310-foot adit, and developed a 340-foot sub level to exploit the shallow, skarn-
hosted, copper oxide mineralization. Copper oxide mineralization extended to a depth of
200 feet, beyond which copper-molybdenum sulfide mineralization was reported.
The observed calc-silicate skarn-hosted copper mineralization is associated with
anomalous silver, lead and zinc which are all dominantly present as oxide minerals in
the near surface environment. The observed mineralization is interpreted as distal
expressions of a buried hydrothermal system, such as a potential concealed porphyry
at depth. Skarn alteration and mineralization on the property are spatially associated
quartz monzonite intrusions and thin porphyritic quartz-feldspar dykes.
Potential for a Typhoon™ Discovery
Ivanhoe Electric has recognized the potential for buried porphyry, skarn and carbonate-
replacement mineralization to exist at the White Hill Project, as well as possible
extensions to the areas of currently known copper-skarn mineralization. Initial
exploration will include geological mapping, sampling and airborne electromagnetic
surveying to refine exploration targets at depth. Subsequently, Ivanhoe Electric will
deploy its proprietary geophysical surveying system TyphoonTM to explore for
anomalies at depth to help pinpoint future exploration drilling.
Typhoon™ has demonstrated its effectiveness at identifying significant mineralized
bodies located below the basin fill cover of the US Southwest – notably at the
Company’s flagship Santa Cruz Copper Project in Arizona (refer to Ivanhoe Electric’s
news release dated November 29, 2022).
Key Terms of the Earn-In and Joint Venture Agreement
Ivanhoe Electric has the right to earn an 80% interest in the White Hill Copper Project by
incurring $10.0 million of expenditures on the Project and making payments to Exiro
totaling $4.95 million ($3.55 million in cash and $1.4 million in Ivanhoe Electric common
shares) within six years of signing the Agreement. During the earn-in period, Ivanhoe
Electric has the exclusive right to operate, control and direct all exploration and mineral
development activities at the Project. There are no minimum expenditures required in
any given year, and Ivanhoe Electric has the right to cease making payments at any
time, resulting in it earning no interest in the Project.
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Should Ivanhoe Electric earn into 80% of the Project, the joint venture will form, and
Ivanhoe Electric will then be obligated to fund the next $30 million of development
expenditures to advance the Project. After that expenditure, each joint venture partner
will contribute pro rata to the joint venture or be subject to standard dilution provisions
related to its Project interest. In the event that Exiro is to be diluted to less than 10%, it
will retain a 10% Project interest and Ivanhoe Electric will carry Exiro’s funding
obligation through to commercial production. At commercial production, Exiro will
become obligated to repay such funded amounts within 12 months of commercial
production. No royalties are to be granted as part of this agreement. Ivanhoe Electric is
also being granted a right of first refusal over Exiro’s interest in the joint venture.
Qualified Persons
Disclosures of a scientific or technical nature regarding the White Hill Project included
in this news release have been reviewed, verified, and approved by Shawn
Vandekerkhove (P.Geo), a Qualified Person as defined by Regulation S-K, Subpart 1300
promulgated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“S-K 1300”) and by
Canadian National Instrument 43-101 (“NI 43-101”). Mr. Vandekerkhove is an employee
of Ivanhoe Electric and is not considered independent for purposes of S-K 1300 or NI
43-101.
About Ivanhoe Electric
Ivanhoe Electric is an American technology and mineral exploration company that is re-
inventing mining for the electrification of everything by combining advanced mineral
exploration technologies, renewable energy storage solutions and electric metals
projects predominantly located in the United States. Ivanhoe Electric uses its
Typhoon™ transmitter, an accurate and powerful geophysical survey system, together
with advanced data analytics provided by its subsidiary, Computational Geosciences, to
accelerate and de-risk the mineral exploration process as well as to potentially discover
deposits of critical metals that may otherwise be undetectable by traditional exploration
technologies. Through its controlling interest in VRB Energy, Ivanhoe Electric also
develops and manufactures advanced grid-scale vanadium redox battery storage
systems. Finally, through advancing its portfolio of electric metals projects located
primarily in the United States, headlined by the Santa Cruz Copper Project in Arizona
and the Tintic Copper-Gold Project in Utah, as well as projects in Montana, Oregon and
North Carolina, Ivanhoe Electric is also well positioned to support American supply
chain independence by delivering the critical metals necessary for electrification of the
economy.
Contact Information
Investors: Valerie Kimball, Director, Investor Relations 720-933-1150
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Forward-looking statements
Certain statements in this news release constitute “forward-looking statements” or “forward-looking
information” within the meaning of applicable U.S. and Canadian securities laws. Such statements and
information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual
results, performance or achievements of the company, its projects, or industry results, to be materially
different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-
looking statements or information. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as
“may”, “would”, “could”, “will”, “intend”, “expect”, “believe”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “estimate”, “scheduled”,
“forecast”, “predict” and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events or results “may”,
“could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved. These statements reflect the
company’s current expectations regarding future events, performance and results and speak only as of
the date of this news release.
Such statements include without limitation statements regarding Ivanhoe Electric earning into 80% of
the White Hill Project; the potential for a larger mineralized system to be located at depth at the White
Hill Project; the conduct of a geophysical surveying system Typhoon™ at the Project; and statements
regarding the timing and success of future exploration activities.
Forward-looking statements are based on management’s beliefs and assumptions and on information
currently available to management. Such statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties,
and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking
statements due to various factors, including changes in the prices of copper or other metals Ivanhoe
Electric is exploring for; the results of drilling and exploration activities and/or the failure of exploration
programs or studies to deliver anticipated results or results that would justify and support continued
exploration, studies, development or operations; the significant risk and hazards associated with any
future mining operations; the failure of plant and/or equipment to operate as anticipated or to be subject
to unanticipated breakdowns; extensive regulation by the U.S. government as well as local
governments; changes in laws, rules or regulations, or their enforcement by applicable authorities; the
failure of parties to fulfill contracts with the company or to perform as agreed; and the impact of political,
economic and other uncertainties associated with operating in foreign countries, and the impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic and the global economy. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive
and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements described in Ivanhoe Electric’s
registration statement on Form S-1, as amended, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission and base PREP prospectus filed with Canadian securities commissions.
No assurance can be given that such future results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements speak
only as of the date of this news release. Ivanhoe Electric cautions you not to place undue reliance on
these forward-looking statements. Subject to applicable securities laws, the company does not assume
any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or
circumstances occurring after the date of this news release, and Ivanhoe Electric expressly disclaims
any requirement to do so.