Ivanhoe Mines announces discovery of copper mineralization on surface at project licences in Kazakhstan
September 4, 2025
Ivanhoe Mines announces discovery of copper
mineralization on surface at project licences in Kazakhstan
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15,000-metre diamond drill campaign commenced across
16,000 km2 licence package
LONDON, ENGLAND – Ivanhoe Mines’ (TSX: IVN; OTCQX: IVPAF) Executive
Co-Chairman Robert Friedland, and President and Chief Executive Officer
Marna Cloete announce today an update on exploration activities at the
company’s new joint venture exploration project, in the Chu-Sarysu Basin,
Kazakhstan.
The Chu-Sarysu is the world’s third-largest sediment-hosted copper basin. As
announced on February 12, 2025, Ivanhoe Mines and UK-based private
company, Pallas Resources entered into an exploration joint venture to
explore a highly-prospective package of licences covering 16,000 km2 of the
basin. The licence package area is over seven times larger than that of
Ivanhoe’s Western Forelands Exploration Project, in the Democratic Republic
of the Congo.
Outcropping copper mineralization discovered in the south of the
Chu-Sarysu Basin
Newly completed fieldwork on the joint venture’s Merke licence has identified
copper mineralization outcropping on surface, with an approximately 20-metre
thick zone. Reconnaissance work by Pallas and Ivanhoe Mines has identified
visible copper mineralization at surface, in the form of malachite, azurite and
chalcocite on the Merke licence. The licence is located in the south of the Chu-
Sarysu Basin, and includes a 36-kilometre-long, historically-identified
stratigraphic trend, with multiple samples returning between 1.0% and 5.0%
copper.
While clearly not an economic occurrence in isolation, the discovery of copper
mineralization is significant in that it strongly supports the thesis that
mineralization is structurally controlled, with faults and fractures acting as
conduits for copper-bearing fluids into a package of folded sedimentary
carbonate rocks onlapping older intrusive basement rocks.
Follow-up work will now prioritize mapping these structures in detail,
supported by high resolution magnetic surveys to trace them at depth, and by
evaluating basement contacts and fault systems as potential fluid pathways.
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A historical pit on the Merke licence, exposing an approximately 20-
metre thick horizon of copper mineralization within fractured carbonate
rocks. Visible malachite and azurite confirm copper on the surface. The
discovery demonstrates structural and sedimentary control on
mineralization and provides a very strong framework for future targeting.
Satellite view of a section of the Merke licence, showing lithologies (red
beds, packstones, granodiorite) and structural features interpreted as
key controls for mineralization, as well as clearly visible outcropping
copper mineralization.
Commencement of diamond drilling on licence in the west of the
Chu-Sarysu Basin
The approximately 15,000-metre drill campaign, planned for 2025 has
commenced in the western section of the joint venture’s licence package on
the Glubokoe licence several hundred kilometers to the north of the Merke
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licence. Drilling has started within 10 months of forming the joint venture with
Pallas Resources.
The first drill hole is testing potential extensions of mineralization first noted in
a Soviet-era stratigraphic hole drilled in the 1980s, which intersected three
separate copper-bearing intervals over 26 metres.
The initial drill holes in the 2025 campaign are expected to be between 800 and
1,000 metres deep, and will assist with calibrating the results with historic and
newly acquired geophysical datasets. This in turn will inform the stratigraphic
and facies models, as well as help identify drill targets for the remainder of the
current approximately 15,000-metre program.
Drilling of the Glubokoe licence in the west of the Chu-Sarysu Basin
Kazakhstan’s Chu-Sarysu Basin is the world’s third-largest
sedimentary copper basin, after the prolific Central African
Copperbelt
The Chu-Sarysu is the world’s third-largest sediment-hosted copper basin,
after the Central African Copperbelt and European Kupferschiefer, hosting 27
million tonnes of known copper. The basin is host to the world-class
Dzhezkazgan deposit, which has been continuously mined for over a century.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimates that there remains
approximately 25 million tonnes of undiscovered copper in the Chu-Sarysu
Basin, highlighting its untapped potential. In addition, the basin includes
occurrences of lead, zinc, silver, barium and strontium. Despite its significant
prospectivity, greenfield exploration has largely been neglected across the
entire region for over 40 years.
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Field reconnaissance by the geology team across the newly granted
Merke licence area in the south of the Chu-Sarysu basin
The world’s richest sediment-hosted copper districts, with the Chu-
Sarysu basin ranked as the third-largest worldwide.
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Kazakhstan is a low-cost, mining-friendly jurisdiction that is
underexplored
Kazakhstan has a rich history in mining. The Central Asian country currently
ranks as the world’s largest uranium producer, the world’s second-largest
chromite producer, and is also a major producer of copper, zinc, iron ore and
coal. Mining and quarrying currently account for approximately 14% of the
country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and 17.5% of the country's exports,
equivalent to approximately US$10.5 billion.
Kazakhstan is a highly cost-effective jurisdiction for mineral exploration and
mining, with a skilled workforce and a relatively low cost of operations,
including labour and power.
Despite its geological potential, exploration expenditure in Kazakhstan has
notably lagged behind other major mining jurisdictions. On average,
approximately $100 million has been spent per annum on exploration activities
over the past 15 years, according to data by S&P Global. However, the past 12
months have seen a notable increase in exploration activity following a newly
streamlined exploration licence registration process, as well as the availability
of Soviet-era geophysical data.
Ivanhoe Mines Alliance and Exploration Joint Venture
Ivanhoe Mines formed a Strategic Alliance and Joint Venture Agreement with
UK-based Pallas Resources in late 2024.
The joint venture has accumulated a licence package totaling more than 16,000
km², spread across seven projects. The group of licences forms one of the
largest exploration land packages in Kazakhstan and the largest in the basin.
Ivanhoe Mines will sole-fund up to $18.7 million over the first two years, and
can elect to earn into all seven projects under the alliance, up to 80%, for a
maximum consideration of $115 million over four years.
The strategic alliance aims to combine Pallas Resource’s unique historical
exploration dataset and first-mover advantage in Kazakhstan with Ivanhoe
Mines’ decades of exploration success in discovering over 50 million tonnes
of sediment-hosted copper deposits in the Western Foreland shelf of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, including the Kamoa, Kakula, Makoko and
Kitoko discoveries.
About Ivanhoe Mines
Ivanhoe Mines is a Canadian mining company focused on advancing its three
principal projects in Southern Africa; the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in
the DRC, the ultra-high-grade Kipushi zinc-copper-germanium-silver mine,
also in the DRC; and the tier-one Platreef platinum-palladium-nickel-rhodium-
gold-copper Mine in South Africa, which is set to start production in Q4 2025.
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Ivanhoe Mines is exploring for copper in its highly prospective, 54-100%
owned exploration licences in the Western Forelands, covering an area over
six times larger than the adjacent Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex, including
the high-grade discoveries in the Makoko District. Ivanhoe is also exploring for
new sedimentary copper discoveries in new horizons including Angola,
Kazakhstan, and Zambia.
Follow Robert Friedland (@robert_ivanhoe) and Ivanhoe Mines
(@IvanhoeMines_) on X.
Information contact
Investors
Vancouver: Matthew Keevil +1.604.558.1034
London: Tommy Horton +44 7866 913 207
Media
Tanya Todd +1.604.331.9834
Forward-looking statements
Certain statements in this news release constitute “forward-looking statements” or
“forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such
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expectations regarding future events, performance, and results and speak only as of
the date of this news release.
Such statements include, without limitation: (i) statements that follow-up work will
prioritize on mapping the structures, where mineralization is structurally controlled, in
detail, with higher-resolution magnetic surveys; and (ii) statements that the recently
commenced drill program will total approximately 15,000 metres and that the initial
drill holes from the program are expected to be between 800 and 1,000 metres deep,
and that they will assist with calibrating the results with historic and newly acquired
geophysical datasets.
Forward-looking statements and information involve significant risks and
uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and
will not necessarily be accurate indicators of whether such results will be achieved.
Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed
in the forward-looking statements or information, including, but not limited to the
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factors discussed above and under the “Risk Factors” section in the company’s
MD&A for the three and six months ended June 30, 2025, and its current annual
information form, and elsewhere in this news release, as well as unexpected
changes in laws, rules or regulations, or their enforcement by applicable authorities;
the failure of parties to contracts with the company to perform as agreed; social or
labour unrest; changes in commodity prices; and the failure of exploration programs
or studies to deliver anticipated results or results that would justify and support
continued exploration, studies, development or operations.
Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based
upon what management of the company believes are reasonable assumptions, the
company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these
forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the
date of this news release and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this
cautionary statement. 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.
The company’s actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these
forward-looking statements as a result of the factors outlined in the “Risk Factors”
section in the company’s MD&A for the three and six months ended June 30, 2025,
and its current annual information form.