Ivanhoe Electric (TSX:IE,NYSEAMERICAN:IE) has secured a US$1.1 billion preliminary debt financing package from the US Export-Import Bank (EXIM) to develop the Santa Cruz copper project in Arizona.
The preliminary project letter, announced on Monday (August 24) increases the federal agency’s potential funding by US$275 million compared to an initial April 2025 letter of interest.
The support materialized just weeks after US President Donald Trump publicly endorsed financing the Arizona project during an August 7 mining roundtable at the Department of State.
Ivanhoe Electric applied for the funding through the bank’s Make More in America Initiative, a program designed to strengthen domestic supply chains and expand domestic production capacity.
“Our country has entered an extraordinary era of demand growth for copper, which is central to all forms of electricity generation, transmission and consumption as well as advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and our national security,” Ivanhoe Electric Executive Chairman Robert Friedland said in a press release.
“At Santa Cruz, we are building a modern American copper mine capable of producing 99.99 percent pure copper metal, without a smelting process, to support American industry and supply chain security,” he added.
The US$1.24 billion Santa Cruz project sits on 6,000 acres of privately owned surface, mineral and water rights, shielding the development from the prolonged permitting timelines typically associated with federal or state land.
A June 2025 prefeasibility study shows a 23 year mine life producing 1.4 million metric tons of copper cathode. The facility will use on-site heap leaching, targeting 92 percent life-of-mine recovery rates and bypassing traditional smelting.
Ivanhoe Electric expects to release an updated prefeasibility study in September of this year, where the revised economic assessment will detail underground access plans. The company aims to commence construction in the first half of 2026, with first copper production projected for 2028.
Ivanhoe Electric shares rose 1 percent to C$16.03 in Toronto following the announcement.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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