Ivanhoe Electric On-Track to Deliver Santa Cruz Copper Project Preliminary Feasibility Study in Q2 2025 Ivanhoe Electric Will Use the Preliminary Feasibility Study to Pursue Long-term Project Financing Metallurgical Results from Ongoing Testwork Show High Copper
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September 16, 2024
Ivanhoe Electric On-Track to Deliver Santa Cruz Copper Project
Preliminary Feasibility Study in Q2 2025
Ivanhoe Electric Will Use the Preliminary Feasibility Study to Pursue
Long-term Project Financing
Metallurgical Results from Ongoing Testwork Show High Copper
Recoveries and Recoverable Precious Metals
Santa Cruz Copper Project Received General Plan Amendment
Approval from the City of Casa Grande and is Preparing Key Permit
Applications for Submittal in H1 2025
Recent Infill Drilling Intersects High-Grade Copper Mineralization at
the Santa Cruz Deposit, Including 99 Meters Grading 2.39% Copper
PHOENIX, ARIZONA – Ivanhoe Electric Inc. (“Ivanhoe Electric”) (NYSE American: IE;
TSX: IE) Executive Chairman Robert Friedland and President and Chief Executive
Officer Taylor Melvin are pleased to provide an update on the ongoing progress at the
Company’s Santa Cruz Copper Project in Arizona.
Mr. Melvin commented: “We are encouraged by the ongoing progress at our Santa Cruz
Copper Project. Our Preliminary Feasibility Study remains on track and on budget for
completion in the second quarter of 2025. We are pleased to have received approval by
the City of Casa Grande for our General Plan Amendment, and we look forward to
submitting key permit applications in early 2025.”
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The Santa Cruz Copper Project Preliminary Feasibility Study will define an
underground mining operation supported by a mine plan and an updated mineral
resource and reserve estimate
Our Preliminary Feasibility Study (“PFS” or the “Study”) is being conducted under the
standards of U.S. Regulation S-K 1300. The Study will include a detailed mine plan that
will be supported by an updated mineral resource and reserve estimate resulting from
our infill drilling and testwork activities. The Study will be used by Ivanhoe Electric to
make an investment decision and pursue long-term project financing.
The Santa Cruz Copper Project Preliminary Feasibility Study is now 50%
complete, with several significant milestones achieved, and on track for
completion in Q2 2025
• 120,000 meters of new drilling completed since December 2022 Mineral Resource
Estimate (“MRE”) to support Preliminary Feasibility Study
• Significant advancements in metallurgy, mine engineering, processing, tailings
trade-off studies, and mine access planning
• Studies focused on process design and optimization, power, water management,
and environmental/permitting are ongoing
Metallurgical studies, conducted by Blue Coast Research Ltd. of British
Columbia, Canada, showing high copper recoveries and presence of recoverable
precious metal by-products
• Up to 98% recoveries of acid-soluble copper for production of copper cathode
• Up to 92% recoveries of floatable copper to produce high-grade copper
concentrate
• Expected to produce a high-grade copper concentrate grading up to 51% copper
by weight and high-purity copper cathode meeting London Metal Exchange Grade
A standards
• Identified recoverable precious metal by-products expected to average 2.0 g/t
gold and 145.9 g/t silver in the high-grade copper concentrate
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Permitting milestone achieved and major permits in preparation for submittal
In June 2024, Ivanhoe Electric received approval from the City of Casa Grande for the
Major General Plan Amendment for the Santa Cruz Copper Project, a major milestone
for the Project. The City of Casa Grande Council unanimously approved amending
nearly 3,000 acres of land use designation from “Neighborhoods” to
“Manufacturing/Industry.” Key permitting applications are being prepared for submittal
in the first half of 2025 in connection with the PFS.
Infill drilling at Santa Cruz Deposit demonstrates presence of high-grade
domains within the Mineral Resource Estimate
The development drill program at the Santa Cruz Copper Project included drill holes
completed to support metallurgical studies, resource definition and infill, hydrogeology,
and geotechnical studies, all of which support the PFS. Infill drill holes were completed
to support the conversion of resources from the Inferred category to the higher-
confidence Indicated category.
Infill drill hole SCC-234, completed in the Santa Cruz Deposit, intersected higher than
expected copper grades, with mineralization present as strong chalcocite, atacamite,
and chrysocolla in bedrock Oracle Granite and porphyry as disseminations, veins, and
fracture fillings.
Assays from the recently completed development drill program continue to be received
and will be added to an updated MRE to support the PFS delivery in Q2 2025. Recent
intercepts include:
• 99.4 meters @ 2.39% total copper from 738.0 meters, including 46.1 meters @
3.99% total copper from 755.9 meters (Hole SCC-234)
• 140.1 meters @ 1.56% total copper from 753.4 meters, including 29.0 meters @
2.92% total copper from 799.0 meters (Hole SCC-228)
• 101.9 meters @ 1.65% total copper from 678.1 meters, including 17.6 meters @
2.37% total copper from 702.7 meters (Hole SCC-232)
• 70.2 meters @ 1.44% total copper from 551.0 meters, and 115.8 meters @ 1.12%
total copper from 630.2 meters (Hole SCC-219A)
See Figure 1 below for drill hole locations.
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Figure 1. Plan view map showing completed drill holes with received and
pending assays and the location of infill drill holes from this release.
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Photo 1. Drill core from infill drill hole SCC-234 at 776.72 meters showing intense
steely-gray chalcocite (a floatable mineral that is approximately 80% copper by
weight) enrichment mineralization in veins and disseminations.
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Photo 2. Drill core from infill drill hole SCC-232 at 691.00 meters showing intense
dark green atacamite (a leachable mineral that is approximately 60% copper by
weight) mineralization.
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Highlighted drill intercepts not previously disclosed from the Santa Cruz Copper Project
(refer to the Santa Cruz Drill Results page on Ivanhoe Electric’s website for further
details of all reported drill holes).
DRILL
HOLE LOCATION
FROM
(M)
TO
(M)
INTERVAL
LENGTH
(M)
TOTAL
COPPER
(%)
TOTAL
SOLUBLE
COPPER
(%)
SCC-210 Santa Cruz 594.97 650.00 55.03 1.05 1.01
AND 656.00 705.00 49.00 1.36 1.12
SCC-211 Santa Cruz 552.00 584.00 32.00 1.34 1.24
INCLUDING 552.00 568.00 16.00 1.68 1.63
SCC-212 Santa Cruz 615.00 640.00 25.00 1.19 1.02
AND 667.96 698.46 30.50 1.42 1.35
INCLUDING 675.56 698.46 22.90 1.54 1.46
INCLUDING 675.56 692.00 16.44 1.73 1.65
AND 707.21 748.15 40.94 1.10 1.06
INCLUDING 707.21 726.95 19.74 1.41 1.34
AND 753.49 808.00 54.51 1.17 1.15
SCC-215 Santa Cruz 598.46 630.89 32.43 1.38 1.32
AND 745.00 794.20 49.20 1.18 0.69
INCLUDING 750.93 772.00 21.07 1.57 1.17
AND 802.00 857.00 55.00 0.86 0.07
SCC-219A Santa Cruz 551.00 621.22 70.22 1.44 1.34
AND 630.17 746.00 115.83 1.12 0.82
SCC-221 Santa Cruz 844.91 965.00 120.09 1.34 1.25
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INCLUDING 870.00 922.31 52.31 1.81 1.88
SCC-223 Santa Cruz 421.00 450.00 29.00 1.59 1.36
SCC-225A Santa Cruz 479.00 519.00 40.00 2.00 1.91
INCLUDING 479.00 509.00 30.00 2.42 2.33
INCLUDING 482.00 488.87 6.87 4.23 4.17
SCC-228 Santa Cruz 616.62 702.00 85.38 1.21 1.17
INCLUDING 638.85 657.40 18.55 1.97 1.86
AND 753.39 893.52 140.13 1.56 0.18
INCLUDING 799.00 828.00 29.00 2.92 0.37
SCC-229 Santa Cruz 623.00 701.00 78.00 1.47 1.15
INCLUDING 623.00 655.00 32.00 2.37 2.30
INCLUDING 629.00 645.00 16.00 2.86 2.78
SCC-232 Santa Cruz 678.09 780.00 101.91 1.65 1.68
INCLUDING 678.09 758.00 79.91 1.79 1.83
INCLUDING 702.69 720.25 17.56 2.37 2.41
AND 788.00 838.30 50.30 1.51 1.49
INCLUDING 788.00 825.09 37.09 1.74 1.72
SCC-234 Santa Cruz 691.08 731.98 40.90 1.59 1.58
INCLUDING 691.08 730.04 38.96 1.63 1.62
AND 738.00 837.36 99.36 2.39 2.36
INCLUDING 738.00 814.00 76.00 2.92 2.86
INCLUDING 755.91 802.00 46.09 3.99 3.93
*Total Soluble Copper is the calculated summation of all soluble copper analyses derived from the sequential copper
analysis suite.