Ivanhoe Electric Sets 2026 Construction Target for Santa Cruz Copper Mine in Arizona

Ivanhoe Electric has finalized a pre-feasibility study (PFS) for its Santa Cruz copper project in Arizona, confirming the viability of a high-grade underground mine and laying the groundwork for construction to begin in the first half of 2026.

The PFS outlines a 20,000-ton-per-day underground mining operation that will yield 72,000 tonnes of copper cathode annually for the first 15 years. Over a 23-year mine life, the site is expected to produce a total of 1.5 million tonnes of copper from 136 million tonnes of ore at an average grade of 1.08% copper.

Ivanhoe plans to construct a conventional on/off heap-leach facility on-site. This will enable production of 99.99% pure LME Grade A copper cathode—eliminating the need for smelting or cross-border processing and aligning with clean production goals.

“Given global conflicts that concern us all, the United States is now awake to the urgent national security imperative to restore domestic American mineral production to the scale of the American economy,” said Ivanhoe Electric Executive Chairperson Robert Friedland. “Our government, industry, and defence establishment clearly recognise the paramount importance of having a secure, domestic supply of all critical minerals in the twenty-first century, including copper.”

Friedland added, “Our progress to date could not have been achieved without the support of our long-term supportive investors, such as Saudi Arabia’s Maaden and BHP, the world’s largest mining company, and several of the world’s top institutional investors who understand the urgent need for domestic copper production. This is what the American mineral industry and resurgence must look like – clean, secure, strategic, and ready to support American national security.”

The estimated initial capital cost of the project is $1.24 billion, translating to a capital intensity of roughly $17,000 per tonne of copper. The life-of-mine C1 cash cost is projected at $1.32/lb, placing the project in the first quartile of global copper producers.

At current copper prices ($4.83/lb COMEX), the project carries a strong after-tax net present value (NPV) of $1.9 billion and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 24%. Using a more conservative base-case copper price of $4.25/lb, the NPV is $1.4 billion with a 20% IRR.

President and CEO Taylor Melvin credited the project’s momentum to the quality of the resource and the strength of the team. “I am proud of the extraordinary work by our Santa Cruz project team to complete our PFS on time and on budget,” he said. “We have assembled a dedicated team of talented mine engineers and underground specialists who have been critical in getting us to this point.”

Melvin added, “Working together with our expert industry consultants, our team’s tireless efforts have resulted in a highly engineered underground mine plan and a simplified heap-leach process design with low initial capital, low unit operating costs, and high copper recoveries.”

The project’s location on private land is expected to streamline permitting, with the first copper production projected for 2028. To support development, Ivanhoe has secured a letter of interest from the U.S. Export-Import Bank for up to $825 million in debt financing under the Make More in America initiative.

Since exploration started in 2021, Ivanhoe Electric has drilled 329 holes totaling 279,000 meters and invested over $100 million into technical and environmental studies.

As the U.S. ramps up efforts to secure domestic supply chains for critical minerals, the Santa Cruz project could become one of the country’s most strategic new sources of clean copper production.

Originally reported by Mariaan Webb in Mining Weekly.