Ivanhoe Electric Provides Update on Activities at its Santa Cruz Copper Project in Arizona 37 Drill Holes Totaling 25,176 Meters of Development Drilling Completed Since Release of the September 2023 Initial Assessment Ongoing Technical Work is Advancing to Support a Preliminary
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January 8, 2024
Ivanhoe Electric Provides Update on Activities at its Santa Cruz
Copper Project in Arizona
37 Drill Holes Totaling 25,176 Meters of Development Drilling
Completed Since Release of the September 2023 Initial Assessment
Ongoing Technical Work is Advancing to Support a Preliminary
Feasibility Study Expected to be Completed by the End of Q2 2025
Recent Infill Drilling Has Delineated a High-Grade Oxide Copper
Domain at Santa Cruz; Drill Hole SCC-125 Intersected 66 Meters at
2.85% Total Copper
14 Drill Holes Totaling 12,510 Meters of Exploration Drilling
Completed in 2023
Recent Assays at Texaco Ridge Confirm Step-out Mineralization;
Drill Hole SCC-122 Intersected 327 Meters Grading 0.81% Total
Copper, Southwest of the Existing Texaco Mineral Resource
Recent Acquisition of Approximately 6,900 Acres of Exploration
Permits Brings the Santa Cruz Project Mineral Rights to Over 18,700
Acres
PHOENIX, ARIZONA – Ivanhoe Electric Inc. (NYSE American: IE; TSX: IE) Executive
Chairman Robert Friedland and President and Chief Executive Officer Taylor Melvin are
pleased to provide an update on ongoing infill and exploration drilling and technical
work at the Santa Cruz Copper Project, located west of Casa Grande, Arizona.
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Mr. Friedland commented: “Our extensive exploration and development drilling
programs at the Santa Cruz Copper Project have yielded very strong results and
continue to uncover the full potential of the project. By incorporating sustainable
technologies and renewable energy into the upcoming Prefeasibility Study and
leveraging cutting-edge underground material handling methods, we are advancing
studies at Santa Cruz for a modern, high-grade, underground copper mine with very low
projected carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions.”
Mr. Melvin commented: “The fourth quarter of 2023 was an important time for the
advancement of our Santa Cruz Copper Project in Arizona. We significantly increased
our development drilling activity and received substantial assays from recent
exploration drilling. In addition to raising our level of confidence in the Santa Cruz and
East Ridge mineral resource estimates, recent infill drilling identified a large, high-grade
oxide domain in the Santa Cruz deposit. This domain contains higher copper grades
and is located in better quality ground conditions than previously modeled in our 2023
Initial Assessment. Our ongoing development drilling and test work will support the
studies required for our Santa Cruz Prefeasibility Study, which we expect to complete
before the end of Q2 2025. Beyond our development drilling at Santa Cruz and East
Ridge, assays from recent step-out exploration at Texaco Ridge identified wide zones of
primary sulfide mineralization that could provide future growth for our Santa Cruz
Project. The combined success of our recent development and exploration drilling
programs at Santa Cruz provides us with strong momentum as we enter 2024.”
37 development drill holes totaling 25,176 meters have been drilled at the
Santa Cruz and East Ridge Deposits since the release of the September
2023 Initial Assessment
The December 2022 Mineral Resource Estimate that formed the basis for the September
2023 Initial Assessment was modeled from 153,000 meters of drilling in 170 diamond
drill holes. Since the effective date of the 2022 Mineral Resource Estimate, Ivanhoe
Electric has completed an additional 76 drill holes, totaling 55,964 meters, with 25,176
meters drilled since the September 2023 Initial Assessment.
Drilling activity at Santa Cruz ramped up in Q4 2023, with eight rigs drilling nearly
10,000 meters in November alone.
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Figure 1. 2023 Monthly drilling at the Santa Cruz Project.
* Note December figures include holiday break
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Figure 2. Map showing drill hole locations at the Santa Cruz Copper Project.
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Infill and technical drilling confirm the presence of a high-grade oxide and
chalcocite domain
Recent drilling at Santa Cruz has confirmed the presence of high-grade soluble copper
within mineralized oracle granite in an area that was previously classified as an exotic
domain within the 2022 Mineral Resource estimate. We are referring to this domain as
the Verde Domain.
The Verde Domain has higher grades, better rock mass conditions and lower water flow
rates compared to previous modeling. The improved ground characteristics combined
with higher copper grades provide upside potential in terms of possible mining method,
mining rate, and metallurgical recovery compared to what was modeled for this area in
the Initial Assessment. The opportunity to mine the Verde Domain in the relatively early
years is being studied; this has the potential to accelerate capital payback and boost
project economics. The mineralization intersected within the Verde Domain in drill hole
SCC-125 includes:
• 66 meters @ 2.85% total copper from 595 meters, including 56.75 meters @ 3.22%
total copper from 598 meters
• High-grade intersections within SCC-125 include 17.05 meters @ 4.69% total
copper from 602 meters and 11 meters @ 4.87% total copper from 626 meters
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Figure 3. Shows Verde Domain drilling that has delineated an area of approximately 200
meters by 140 meters in plan view. Assays are pending for several holes in this domain.
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Photo of core sample from the Verde Domain, drill hole SCC-125 at 630.40 meters
showing granite host rock containing abundant deep green atacamite (a leachable
mineral that is approximately 60% copper by weight).
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Photo of core boxes from the Verde Domain, drill hole SCC-125 from 625 to 637 meters
showing granite host rock containing abundant deep green atacamite.
Infill drilling designed to support the conversion of indicated resources to
probable reserves
The Initial Assessment is based on 105.2 million tonnes of modeled mill feed from the
current indicated and inferred mineral resource with an average grade 1.58% total
copper. The goal of the current development drilling program is to increase the quality
and confidence of the indicated mineral resource in order to convert a greater portion of
resources to probable mineral reserves as part of the Prefeasibility Study. In 2023, we
completed 76 drill holes in support of this conversion effort.