Ivanhoe Electric Inc. [NYSE-[NYSE-IE; TSX-IE]Executive Chairman Robert Friedland and President and CEO Taylor Melvin supplied an upgrade on continuous infill and expedition drilling and technical work at the Santa Cruz Copper Project, situated west of Casa Grande, Arizona.
Friedland commented: “Our comprehensive expedition and advancement drilling programs at the Santa Cruz Copper Project have actually yielded extremely strong outcomes and continue to reveal the complete capacity of the task. By integrating sustainable innovations and renewable resource into the upcoming Prefeasibility Study and leveraging advanced underground product managing techniques, we are advancing research studies at Santa Cruz for a modern-day, top-quality, underground copper mine with really low predicted carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions.”
Melvin commented: “The 4th quarter of 2023 was an essential time for the improvement of our Santa Cruz Copper Project in Arizona. We considerably increased our advancement drilling activity and got significant assays from current expedition drilling. In addition to raising our level of self-confidence in the Santa Cruz and East Ridge mineral resource price quotes, current infill drilling determined a big, top-quality oxide domain in the Santa Cruz deposit. This domain includes greater copper grades and lies in much better quality ground conditions than formerly designed in our 2023 Initial Assessment. Our continuous advancement drilling and test work will support the research studies needed for our Santa Cruz Prefeasibility Study, which we anticipate to finish before completion of Q2 2025. Beyond our advancement drilling at Santa Cruz and East Ridge, assays from current step-out expedition at Texaco Ridge recognized large zones of main sulfide mineralization that might offer future development for our Santa Cruz Project.”
The December 2022 Mineral Resource Estimate that formed the basis for the September 2023 Initial Assessment was designed from 153,000 metres of drilling in 170 diamond drill holes. Given that the efficient date of the 2022 Mineral Resource Estimate, Ivanhoe Electric has actually finished an extra 76 drill holes, amounting to 55,964 metres, with 25,176 metres drilled because the September 2023 Initial Assessment.
Drilling activity at Santa Cruz increase in Q4 2023, with 8 rigs drilling almost 10,000 metres in November alone.
Current drilling at Santa Cruz has actually verified the existence of state-of-the-art soluble copper within mineralized oracle granite in a location that was formerly categorized as an unique domain within the 2022 Mineral Resource quote. We are describing this domain as the Verde Domain.
The Verde Domain has greater grades, much better rock mass conditions and lower water circulation rates compared to previous modeling. The enhanced ground attributes integrated with greater copper grades supply upside capacity in regards to possible mining approach, mining rate, and metallurgical healing compared to what was designed for this location in the Initial Assessment. The chance to mine the Verde Domain in he fairly early years is being studied; this has the possible to speed up capital repayment and increase task economics. The mineralization converged within the Verde Domain in drill hole SCC-125 consists of 66 metres of 2.85% overall copper from 595 metres, consisting of 56.75 metres at 3.22% overall copper from 598 metres.
Top-quality crossways within SCC-125 consist of 17.05 metres of 4.69% overall copper from 602 metres and 11 metres of 4.87% overall copper from 626 metres.
The Initial Assessment is based upon 105.2 million tonnes of designed mill feed from the present indicated and presumed mineral resource with a typical grade 1.58% overall copper. The objective of the existing advancement drilling program is to increase the quality and self-confidence of the suggested mineral resource in order to transform a higher part of resources to possible mineral reserves as part of the Prefeasibility Study. In 2023, we finished 76 drill holes in assistance of this conversion effort.
The Texaco Ridge Exploration Area was recognized by Ivanhoe Electric’s exclusive Typhoon™3D Induced Polarization Survey in September 2022. Ivanhoe Electric drilled 10 holes amounting to 8,606 metres with a single rig at Texaco Ridge throughout the very first half of 2023. The objective of this drilling was to march into locations beyond the drilled Texaco Deposit that revealed high mineralization capacity based upon Typhoon™study outcomes.
Hole SCC-122 at Texaco Ridge converged broad main sulfides with an obstruct of 327 metres of 0.81% overall copper (from 564 metres), utilizing a 0.39% overall copper cut-off. This obstruct consists of a number of zones at the very same 0.8% overall copper cut-off grade as the close-by Texaco mineral resource: a chalcocite-enriched zone of 18 metres of 1.65% overall copper (from 564 metres); a main sulfide zone of 28 metres of 0.91% overall copper (from 604 metres depth); a main sulfide zone of 49 metres of 0.86% overall copper (from 682 metres depth) and a main sulfide zone of 63 metres of 0.89% overall copper (from 797 metres depth)
Step-out drilling to the southwest has actually converged top-quality soluble copper that stays open. Drill hole SCC-135 consists of numerous zones of soluble copper mineralization at the exact same 0.8% overall copper cut-off grade as the close-by Texaco Mineral Resource: 12.75 metres of 2.02% overall copper (1.97% overall soluble copper) from 649 metres depth along with 6.37 metres of 2.50% overall copper (2.48% overall soluble copper) from 667 metres depth.
Step-out drilling to the northeast, highlighted by drill hole SCC-133, has actually converged a broad obstruct of enriched sulfide product consisting of 67 metres of 0.90% overall copper (0.57% overall soluble copper) from 615 metres.
SCC-122 and its step-out drill holes have actually shown that the main sulfide system stays open in a number of instructions, while drill holes SCC-133 and SCC-135 reveal the capacity for extra soluble copper mineralization.
All Texaco Ridge drill holes lie totally outside the December 2022 Texaco Resource border.
Exploratory drilling at the Texaco Deposit location has actually likewise shown the prospective growth of the main sulfide location. Drill hole SCC-144, drilled simply outside the edge of the December 2022 Texaco mineral resource, converged a thick obstruct controlled by main sulfides consisting of 191.75 metres of 0.73% overall copper (from 619 metres depth) utilizing a 0.39% overall copper cut-off. This consists of numerous intercepts at the exact same 0.8% cut-off grade of the close-by Texaco Resource: a soluble zone of 22.36 metres of 0.92% overall copper (0.88% soluble copper) from 625 metres depth; a main sulfide zone of 40 metres of 1.09% overall copper from 712 meters depth and a main sulfide zone of 13.64 metres of 0.99% overall copper from 768.80 metres depth.
SCC-144’s position over 300 meters southwest from SCC-019, and outside the Texaco Indicated and Inferred Resources, shows the capacity for brand-new zones of top-quality main sulfide in the Texaco Deposit location.
Given that finishing the Initial Assessment in September 2023, deal with the Santa Cruz Prefeasibility Study has actually started and is continuous.
The eco-friendly mineral expedition authorizations are handled by the Arizona State Land Department. Ivanhoe Electric has actually had actually prepared an independent technical report summary for the Santa Cruz Project prepared under SEC Regulation S-K, Subpart 1300 and an independent technical report prepared under Canadian NI 43-101.