NEW YORK – Ivanhoe Electric (NYSE American: IE; TSX: IE) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert Friedland and President Eric Finlayson are pleased to provide an update on drilling operations and exploration activities at the Santa Cruz Copper Project located west of Casa Grande, Arizona.
Mr. Friedland commented: ‘Our industry-leading geologists and engineers are building a wealth of knowledge from the ongoing drilling program at the Santa Cruz Copper Project. We are excited by the rapid progress we’ve experienced at Santa Cruz, which is leading to an updated mineral resource statement for the project expected in January 2023.’ Glen Kuntz, Chief Technical and Innovation Officer, commented: ‘We have had a busy and successful first twelve months at Santa Cruz. The technical teams have published an initial Mineral Resource Estimate while managing a multi-rig drill program, completing numerous trade-off studies and carrying out the technical studies required to support a future Preliminary Economic Assessment.’ Graham Boyd, Vice President of US Projects, commented: ‘Our expert geological team is encouraged by the spectacular blues and greens of the high-grade oxide and exotic copper zones.
We believe that the Santa Cruz deposit could be one slice of a larger porphyry copper system. With our Typhoon results, we have started testing new anomalies for additional copper discoveries.’ 2 Andy Russell, Santa Cruz Consulting Project Director, commented: ‘Based on our work to date, we expect to complete a Preliminary Economic Assessment on the Santa Cruz deposit in the first half of 2023. The initial project economics could improve further as we continue to explore and understand the other areas, including Texaco and East Ridge.
Santa Cruz drill program employing up to eight drill rigs
Up to eight drill rigs are working 24 hours a day to collect resource in-fill, geotechnical, hydrological and metallurgical information required to assess potential mine development options at the Santa Cruz Project. We have completed 23,945 meters of infill drilling and 7,792 meters of drilling to support studies on underground mine access, utilizing a large and experienced on-site crew of over 40 employees and 76 contractors. A recent highlight of the in-fill drilling program is from hole SCC-084, which intersected over 250 meters of impressive oxide and exotic copper mineralization. Although pending assays, this hole demonstrates the potential for identifying new zones of oxide and exotic copper mineralization. Core sample from hole SCC-084 at 756 meters depth showing Diorite (black) with intense high-grade atacamite copper mineralization (green) along fractures and within veins. Atacamite is a high-grade copper mineral with 60% copper by weight.
Prior to sampling drill core for assays, holes receive detailed geotechnical evaluation using rock quality designation, logging of whole core and mapping of structural features using downhole acoustic televiewer surveys. This data is essential for understanding the engineering characteristics of the rocks influencing potential mine design. As a result of the detailed geotechnical work being performed on the core samples, and the industry-wide backlogs at assay laboratories, we have experienced some delays in the receipt of assay results. Approximately 5,000 drill samples are currently being processed at two laboratories: Skyline Assayers & Laboratories in Tucson, Arizona and Societe Generale de Surveillance SA (‘SGS’) in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. We expect to receive assay results in the coming weeks. SGS is constructing a sample preparation facility in Tempe, Arizona to support the Santa Cruz Project. This important facility, located a 45-minute drive from the Project, should be operating by mid-November and will significantly improve assay sample process times.
In early October, the Santa Cruz Project introduced on-site scanning of drill core utilizing cutting-edge technology developed by GeologicAI of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The system utilizes several components including: Light Detection and Ranging (‘LIDAR’) scanning, X-Ray Fluorescence (‘XRF’) chemical analysis, hyperspectral analysis for mineral identification, high-resolution core photography and geotechnical data collection and analysis tools. Once fully deployed, this sophisticated system will allow a two to three-day turnaround time for preliminary geochemical data. The system and the produced data will assist with the prioritization of samples for both assaying and the decision-making process on subsequent drill holes.
Updated Mineral Resource Estimate and Preliminary Economic Assessment
underway Results from the evaluation drill program will be used to support an updated Mineral Resource Estimate for the Santa Cruz Project expected in January 2023. The updated Mineral Resource Estimate will update the existing Santa Cruz deposit resource and will include initial estimates for the Texaco and East Ridge deposit areas. Mining and metallurgical processing trade-off studies aimed at optimizing the initial economic analysis of the project are underway, in support of the Preliminary Economic Assessment (‘PEA’) for the Santa Cruz Project. The initial PEA will cover only the Santa Cruz deposit area and is scheduled for completion in Q2 2023. 7 Through the trade-off studies we are resolving access alternatives, production rates, processing methods, copper cut-off grades, mining sequences and material handling systems. Our engineering teams have reviewed an initial 26 scenarios, which have been reduced to 7 optimized potential underground development scenarios for further study. The Company is also completing environmental baseline studies, including hydrology and geochemistry test work, to support future applications for the Aquifer Protection Permit to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and the Dewatering Permit to the Arizona Department of Water Resources.
Drill rigs will return to the Texaco target in November. Ivanhoe Electric previously drilled five holes at Texaco, three of which intersected mineralized bedrock, with hole SCC-019 returning 73 meters grading 2.2% copper, the highest-grade intersection recorded at Texaco. Notably, after encountering an initial zone of strong secondary copper mineralization, a long intercept of primary chalcopyrite mineralization was found, indicating the potential for high-grade hypogene mineralization. An example of high-grade chalcopyrite mineralization as breccia fill and disseminations at Texaco, as seen in hole SCC-019. This sample is taken from a 1-meter interval grading 3.5% copper at 816 meters depth.
About Ivanhoe
Electric Ivanhoe Electric is an American technology and mineral exploration company that is reinventing 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
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