IVANHOE Electric is in advanced talks with prospective buyers for copper from its Santa Cruz project in Arizona as demand rises from data centres and power grids, Bloomberg reported.
In an exclusive report, Bloomberg said CEO Taylor Melvin had declined to name the parties involved but said interest had come from traditional commodity traders as well as strategic buyers seeking copper for US industries.
Ivanhoe Electric, founded by mining billionaire Robert Friedland, is a separate company from Ivanhoe Mines, the African-focused miner he also founded. It is developing Santa Cruz as the US seeks to increase domestic supplies of critical minerals.
Copper demand is being lifted by investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure, data centres and electricity networks, while global supply growth is struggling to keep pace.
“We need a lot more than Santa Cruz to fill that gap,” Melvin told Bloomberg.
Potential offtake agreements could also include financing for the project, he said.
Ivanhoe Electric is already working with the US Export-Import Bank on a potential debt package of as much as $1.1bn for Santa Cruz. It is also in talks with about a dozen commercial banks about project financing.
The first phase of Santa Cruz is estimated to cost $1.4bn, with initial production targeted for 2029.
The project plans to produce copper cathode on site using a process Ivanhoe Electric says will lower emissions and bring the metal closer to end uses such as wire, cable and foil.
Melvin said Santa Cruz, combined with nearby resources, had the potential to become one of the biggest copper-producing districts in the US.
Demand from technology companies is already beginning to shape copper supply agreements. Earlier this year, Amazon agreed to buy copper produced at Gunnison Copper’s Arizona mine using Rio Tinto’s leaching technology for use in its data centres.