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Released May 14, 2024 | SUGAR LAND
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Australian mining giant BHP Group Limited (Melbourne) and exploration-technology company Ivanhoe Electric (Vancouver, Canada) have entered a partnership to survey "areas of interest" (AOIs) in the U.S., which could then result in the companies developing and operating mines for copper and other critical minerals in a 50-50 joint venture.
The partnership ("Exploration Alliance") is for a term of three years, which may be extended, according to a May 8 press release, with BHP (through a wholly owned subsidiary) providing initial funding of $15 million. Any subsequent funding would be on a 50-50 basis. Ivanhoe will provide access to one of its new-generation geophysical survey systems.
The alliance will operate in two phases: the Project Generation Phase and the Joint Venture Phase.
Ivanhoe Electric will conduct "early-stage generative exploration activities" in six initial "areas of interest" that cover about 3,655 square kilometers in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, according to the press release. "The goal of these initial activities is to identify and stake mineral rights within the AOIs to form a project and/or acquire such mineral rights from third parties."
The Joint Venture Phase would commence once mineral rights are acquired, and any agreed-upon joint-venture project will have 50-50 ownership. "The purpose of the Joint Venture Phase is to further explore and evaluate the exploration results to assess its technical and economic merit, and if agreed upon, to develop and operate a mine and associated infrastructure."
In the initial exploration phase, Ivanhoe Electric will explore areas in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, where Industrial Info is tracking nearly $38 billion worth of active and planned capital-spending mining projects. More than $25 billion worth of activity is attributed to copper mining, which the BHP-Ivanhoe Electric partnership plans to focus on first. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Project Database can click here for a full list of detailed project reports.
One such project is Ivanhoe Electric's exploration of the Santa Cruz deposit in Casa Grande, Arizona, which includes two initial zones for potential construction: Santa Cruz and East Ridge. Ivanhoe indicates this could lead to a 5.9-million-ton underground copper-mining operation, with a processing plant capable of producing 50,000 tons per year of copper cathode and 30,000 tons per year of copper concentrate over a 20-year mine life. Exploration drilling is underway, according to a January update on the effort, and Ivanhoe said it expects to complete a feasibility study before the end of second-quarter 2025. The company did not announce a planned kickoff or completion date for the proposed $1.15 billion Santa Cruz copper mine and processing plant project, but Industrial Info is tracking a tentative kickoff date of April 2026. Subscribers can click here to read more information.
Another project is attributed to copper miner Origin Mining Company LLC, a subsidiary of Waterton Copper (portfolio company of Waterton Global Resource Management (Toronto, Canada): the $600 million restart and modernization of its Mineral Park Copper-Molybdenum-Silver mine in Kingman, Arizona. The project is being performed in two phases, which entail restarting the aboveground open-pit mining operation and then modernizing the shuttered processing plant. The plant is designed to produce 12 million pounds of copper and molybdenum per year as well as 740,000 ounces per of silver. Construction is expected to wrap up in mid-2025. Subscribers can click here to read more information on the project.
In Utah, global mining giant Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) (London, England) is at work on two projects aimed at extending the mine life of its Kennecott copper operation in Utah. For more information on the projects and Rio Tinto's project activity, see April 18, 2024, article - Rio Tinto Updates Progress on Copper, Aluminum, Iron Ore Projects.
While BHP currently does not have any project activity in the U.S., it is at work on its Jansen potash-mining project in Saskatchewan, Alberta, which was 44% complete as of last month. For more information, see April 22, 2024, article - BHP Updates Progress on Major Canadian Potash-Mining Project.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Database can click here to view reports for all of the projects discussed in this article and click here for the related plant profiles.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
The partnership ("Exploration Alliance") is for a term of three years, which may be extended, according to a May 8 press release, with BHP (through a wholly owned subsidiary) providing initial funding of $15 million. Any subsequent funding would be on a 50-50 basis. Ivanhoe will provide access to one of its new-generation geophysical survey systems.
The alliance will operate in two phases: the Project Generation Phase and the Joint Venture Phase.
Ivanhoe Electric will conduct "early-stage generative exploration activities" in six initial "areas of interest" that cover about 3,655 square kilometers in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, according to the press release. "The goal of these initial activities is to identify and stake mineral rights within the AOIs to form a project and/or acquire such mineral rights from third parties."
The Joint Venture Phase would commence once mineral rights are acquired, and any agreed-upon joint-venture project will have 50-50 ownership. "The purpose of the Joint Venture Phase is to further explore and evaluate the exploration results to assess its technical and economic merit, and if agreed upon, to develop and operate a mine and associated infrastructure."
In the initial exploration phase, Ivanhoe Electric will explore areas in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, where Industrial Info is tracking nearly $38 billion worth of active and planned capital-spending mining projects. More than $25 billion worth of activity is attributed to copper mining, which the BHP-Ivanhoe Electric partnership plans to focus on first. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Project Database can click here for a full list of detailed project reports.
One such project is Ivanhoe Electric's exploration of the Santa Cruz deposit in Casa Grande, Arizona, which includes two initial zones for potential construction: Santa Cruz and East Ridge. Ivanhoe indicates this could lead to a 5.9-million-ton underground copper-mining operation, with a processing plant capable of producing 50,000 tons per year of copper cathode and 30,000 tons per year of copper concentrate over a 20-year mine life. Exploration drilling is underway, according to a January update on the effort, and Ivanhoe said it expects to complete a feasibility study before the end of second-quarter 2025. The company did not announce a planned kickoff or completion date for the proposed $1.15 billion Santa Cruz copper mine and processing plant project, but Industrial Info is tracking a tentative kickoff date of April 2026. Subscribers can click here to read more information.
Another project is attributed to copper miner Origin Mining Company LLC, a subsidiary of Waterton Copper (portfolio company of Waterton Global Resource Management (Toronto, Canada): the $600 million restart and modernization of its Mineral Park Copper-Molybdenum-Silver mine in Kingman, Arizona. The project is being performed in two phases, which entail restarting the aboveground open-pit mining operation and then modernizing the shuttered processing plant. The plant is designed to produce 12 million pounds of copper and molybdenum per year as well as 740,000 ounces per of silver. Construction is expected to wrap up in mid-2025. Subscribers can click here to read more information on the project.
In Utah, global mining giant Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) (London, England) is at work on two projects aimed at extending the mine life of its Kennecott copper operation in Utah. For more information on the projects and Rio Tinto's project activity, see April 18, 2024, article - Rio Tinto Updates Progress on Copper, Aluminum, Iron Ore Projects.
While BHP currently does not have any project activity in the U.S., it is at work on its Jansen potash-mining project in Saskatchewan, Alberta, which was 44% complete as of last month. For more information, see April 22, 2024, article - BHP Updates Progress on Major Canadian Potash-Mining Project.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Database can click here to view reports for all of the projects discussed in this article and click here for the related plant profiles.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
