Ivanhoe Electric Inc. (IE) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good morning, and welcome to Ivanhoe Electric's webcast call on the 2026 Santa Cruz Copper Project Preliminary Feasibility Study. Today's call is taking place on Wednesday, September 23, 2026. [Operator Instructions] I will now turn the call over to Taylor Melvin, President and Chief Executive Officer for Ivanhoe Electric.

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining the call today to discuss the 2026 preliminary feasibility study for our Santa Cruz copper project. Before we get started, please note that today's presentation contains forward-looking statements, which could cause actual results to differ. Please refer to the news release and our SEC filings for a details. With us on the call today, we have our call today we have a thank Chairman Robert Friedland. I'll be getting this echo on the call, anybody?

Little.

Okay. With us on the call today, we have Founder and Executive Chairman, Robert Friedland. Michelle Lammers, our Chief Operating Officer; Lynn Kunz, Senior Vice President of Mine Development and Gordon Easter, our Chief Financial Officer. At this point, I'd like to turn the call over to our Founder and Executive Chairman, Robert Friedland.

Well, good morning to everybody all over wherever you may be. I'm in Colorado, reminiscing that we started thinking about a rebirth of mining in the United States about 10 years ago. We got together with Eric Finlayson who ran an expiration for [indiscernible] and we started looking at the Western United States. And of course, Arizona was always the copper state that we priced about 10% of copper that humanity is mined in human history. And we've been working in Nevada and in Utah and Montana and in New Mexico and a lot of other places in the United States. And we've come to this turning point about Stage 1 the mining the oxide, which is metallurgically very virtuous at Santa Cruz, west of Casagrande, Arizona. [indiscernible] is super high-tech copper mine very clean and going directly to 99.99% cathode copper. And as I've said several times, I doubt it will leave the state of Arizona. There are 1,400 defense companies in Arizona, screaming for this metal, several hundred billion dollars of capital investment going into semiconductors, automobiles and other industries. And we're only located 5 miles west of an electric car company. It gets very important to understand that with the state of our moods closed and supply chain stress and the incredible amount of copper required to upgrade the American grid and data centers. This kind of mine is in our national security interest and that's why it has sort of attracted the attention of the U.S. administration.

Robert, we lost your audio.

It is you're just carrying if you can.

You're a back.

So there are a couple of very important factors here. The state of our moods has driven the price of sulfuric acid to the moon. And we will soon find out whether there's further escalation there or whether there's some kind of a peaceful settlement. But -- this mine uses very little sulfuric acid, and it doesn't need a smelter. So this metal is critically important in Phase I. There's a much larger Phase I to go go ahead and develop Texaco and the deeper hypogene sulfide resource here. It could make this one of the largest mines in the world. Beyond that, we're extremely confident in the strength of our exploration team. We run a 50-50 joint venture with BHP, which is the Western world's largest mining company. We also run our own 100%-owned exploration efforts, and we are extremely confident that we'll have good news for our shareholders, and that's why starting this week, we're going to be talking about this company. First, at the Colorado School of Mines this afternoon. And then at the Denver Gold show because we're seeing a lot of gold in our projects both domestically and in Saudi Arabia. And then in Washington, D.C. in an upcoming event and soon on Wall Street. So I leave these shares are significantly undervalued deserving of much more attention. It's been a long summer. And the tangible reality that we're going to tell you about here today is only the opening note, in a symphony that's taken us 8 or 9 years of hard work to get this far. But American needs mining companies like this because the management team and the technology we address in the United States is quite different than what we would do in Mongolia or in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the United States, we can use the retail I think have you lost me.

You're good, Robert.

So with just a few more words. This tunnel boring machine is something you can only do in the United States. And it's the kind of thing that will differentiate this mine, it's a little bit more capital intensive, it's much safer, highly mechanized, steady-o-the-art technology. It generates very low global warming gas at the bottom of the world cost curve and people are going to come from miles around as this gets developed in the great state of Arizona. And we've had tremendous local political support. So I want to thank this incredible young and dedicated team, some of whom you're going to meet today. The tailors put together -- those of you who want to reach me on robert@ivanhoe.net, you're going to be hearing a lot about this project very soon in coming months in many, many different ways. And you can follow us on X and a lot of other platforms. So without further ado, let's launch into it, guys. Thank you very much.

Great. Thank you, Robert. Appreciate you being with us this morning. As we get into the presentation, I just point out that Santa Cruz continues to be the most advanced large-scale copper projects in the United States designed to produce pure copper cathode on site without smelting. It's a high-grade, modern copper project entirely on private land in the middle of Arizona's booming industrial corridor with excellent access to existing infrastructure. We're on an accelerated path to become America's next large producer of pure copper metal to support our country's economy and supply chain security. We generated this 2026 study to incorporate the industry-leading technology of the [ Robbins Craver ] tunnel boring machine into our project design for mine access. Since our 2025 study, our team of engineers and consultants have been busy updating our detailed engineering for all aspects of the project, significantly derisking the project design and construction. The 2026 study confirms Standard Cruise is a high-grade, low-cost modern copper operation that will produce 99.99% pure copper asset. Updated initial capital is $1.43 billion for a capital intensity of less than $20,000 per ton of copper produced and life of mining cash operating costs are estimated at $1.47 per pound. And that's the life of mine average for the first 15 years, it's about $0.05 less than that. With this study complete, we remain on track for first copper catheter production in 2029. And as a result of its high-grade reserves, modern design and low capital and operating costs, the project delivers exceptional value at today's copper prices and is economic at much lower prices. At current COMEX prices of almost $6.80 per pound, the after-tax net present value of this project using an 8% discount rate is approximately $3.5 billion with an after-tax IRR of 30%. Slide 7 shows some of the key metrics from our study. The mining method, the mine plan and surface processing flow sheet remain largely unchanged from our 2025 study. Santa Cruz is designed to mine 20,000 tons per day of high-grade ore through an on-and-off heap leach process, achieving high copper recoveries of over 92% average during the life of mine. The projected annual copper production has increased to 75,000 tons of pure copper cathode per year from a solvent extraction electro-winning process. At our base case of $4.75 per pound of copper the project has attractive after-tax NPV of $1.5 billion and an IRR of almost 20%. But importantly, the high leverage to copper prices result in $240 million of incremental value with each $0.25 change in the copper price. As I mentioned before, at $1.43 billion of initial capital, our capital intensity is a low $19,100 per ton, which compares very favorably to industry averages for recent projects. The payback period of $4.75 copper is less than 5 years. And at today's prices, that payback number is less than 3 years. The 2026 study includes up-to-date input costs to reflect inflation on construction materials, energy costs and labor. The 2026 study replaces the twin decline design and road headers from 2025 with the advanced and powerful technology of the Robbins tunnel boring machine for mine access and material handling. We've advanced our engineering for underground development, mine access, ventilation and service processing. Advanced test work resulted in an increase in the quantity of binder material for pace backfill, which has impacted sustaining capital. Here, you can see the impact of those updates on initial capital of $1.43 billion, our unit cash cost of $1.47 per pound and our new all-in sustaining unit cost of $2.28 per pound. To put that in perspective, this is a chart of primary copper producers in the Americas. And with all of the updates in our study, Santa Cruz continues to benefit from low unit costs. This chart from S&P Global shows Santa Cruz in the first quartile of primary copper mines in the Americas on a co-product basis. The high-grade nature of our reserves and our modern, efficient design, utilizing the best available technologies in our industry allow us to achieve low unit costs. I'm now going to turn the call over to Glen Kuntz to talk in more detail about the Robbins total boring machine.

Thank you, Taylor. Good morning, everyone. The TBM will drive a single 4-kilometer decline with a 9.3 meter diameter through various ground conditions. TBM is designed to operate through the hard rock, wet and mixed-based ground conditions expected during decline development at Santa Cruz. Its first pressure balance capability, controls face stability helps mitigate groundwater inflow while the bidirectional cutterhead and high torque ice speed drive are designed to manage changing geological conditions and a single drive. As it advances, it will simultaneously install a precast steel concrete liner to support long-term stability and safety. The TBM approach requires a smaller box cut reducing excavated material by approximately 75% within the box cut. It's also designed to advance at approximately 10 meters per day, about twice the stated rate for road under development. The TBM is capable of advancing greater than 10 meters within certain rock types. Importantly, the conveyor installed as part of the tunneling system is intended to support both initial development and life of mine production. The TBM therefore contributes not only to access development but also to the permanent material handling strategy. On the next slide here, optimized mine access design, the 3D view shows how the TBM decline integrates within the broader underground mine development system. Since the 2025 PFS, additional geotechnical drilling has supported detailed engineering for mine access, ventilation, material movement and production sequencing. The Santa Cruz deposit lies 310 to 940 meters below surface. The TBM will develop the mine decline, while road headers will create access to the main mining levels. Centerline access will enable multiple mining faces, blend ore for surface transport and processing to provide rapid, efficient backfilling. Traditional drill and blast methods will be used for stoping and mine development. As one of the newest mines in America, the operation can adapt advanced technologies, including [ teleremote ] autonomous equipment, telemetry and grade control systems. The updated design requires a -- sorry, reduces the heap leach pad footprint together with the refined mine plan, this enables a faster ramp up, averaging approximately 75,000 tons of copper cathode annually over the first 15 years. The updated surface layout is designed to simplify and reduce handling and movement of material from the underground mine through processing, stacking and ultimately to spent ore handling, paste backfill and copper cathode production. The design reduces surface crushing and replace and replace that replace a truck allege for ore handling with surface conveyors. The layout incorporates a stage construction approach an on-off heap leach pad and multiple solution ponds to provide greater operating flexibility and support the recycling of process solutions. The planned infrastructure occupies approximately 1,600 acres or about 30% of the total land package. This leaves significant land available for future development expansion of the East Ridge and Texaco deposits. I'll now hand it over to Michelle.

Thank you, Glen. Good morning, everyone. I am very excited to be here today for my first investor call with Ivanhoe Electric and to have the opportunity to talk about the Santa Cruz project. Santa Cruz was a significant part of what attracted me to Ivanhoe Electric. And the more I've learned about the project and the team behind it, the more excited I am about the opportunity ahead of us. This slide illustrates Santa Cruz process flow sheet. My background includes significant run-of-mine heap leach and solvent extraction electronic experience. So the fundamentals on this flow sheet are very familiar to me. Asset consumption, permeability, solution management, copper recovery and ultimately producing 99.99% pure copper cathode through the solvent extraction and electronic process. What is different about the Santa Cruz flow sheet when compared with traditional leaching is the level of control and efficiency built into the process. We crush and agglomerate the ore with acid and salt and leach it in an on-off pad. The ore is achieving greater than 92% recovery in one leach cycle. Contrasted with conventional oxide and secondary sulfide heap leach operations, where total copper recovery can occur over multiple leach cycles and several years. We are also seeing relatively low sulfuric acid consumption compared with many Arizona heat fleet operations as a result of the chloride assisted leaching. One of the key attributes that set Santa Cruz apart is the Atacama rich mineralization. Santa Cruz hosts the largest known [indiscernible] deposit outside of tiles at Atecama Desert which enables these higher copper recoveries, shorter leach cycles and lower sulfuric acid consumption. After the leaching is complete, have the spent doors and prepared for pace backfill and returned underground in the remaining spend or a stockpile. The flow sheet takes well-established, leaching and solvent extraction electrowinning principles and applies them in a highly controlled and efficient flow sheet to produce copper metal to support the U.S. copper demand. This slide shows our expected cathode production over the life of mine. There are 2 things I'd like to highlight here. First is the rapid ramp-up from initial production in 2029 to full design capacity by 2031. Followed by a long period of relatively consistent cathode production and copper grades. Second, while the current mine plan shows a reduction in production beginning in 2045, we see potential to access additional resources in later years. Supported by areas adjacent to the existing resource that remain open for further exploration. This slide shows our overall permitting and development time line. We are permitted to begin initial construction activities. In parallel, we're advancing the remaining permits required for operations and life of mine production. We anticipate the box cut development to start next month. The TBM will be on site and assembly will start early next year. Decline development will start mid next year and run into 2028 and the development of the ventilation shafts will be executed and sequenced to support underground development. These activities, along with underground development and surface construction support our target of producing first copper cathode in 2029. I'll hand it back over to Glen.

Thank you, Michelle. What you're looking at is the true definition of multi-decade upside we are unlocking a very large interconnected copper district with decades of organic growth ahead of us. Look at the sheer footprint of the system, the Santa Cruz, East Ridge and Texaco deposits form part of a large, continuous highly productive mineralized district, stretching across more than 3 kilometers. Our current mine plan is supported by a robust high-grade continuous mineral reserve base containing 1.5 million tons of copper at a grade of 1.08%. But that represents only a relatively small portion of our combined mill resource base. Each of our deposits is open in most directions. And when you factor in indicated inferred mineral resources that are exclusive of our mineral reserve, we have the scale, high-grade and structural continuity to significantly expand our current mineral reserve base. I'll now hand it over to Jordan.

Thank you, Glenn. Good morning, everyone. As we finalized the 2026 study, we have conserved liquidity, and we are in a very strong financial position to advance initial project activities with over $250 million of cash on hand as at June 30 plus an undrawn $200 million credit facility in place and available until the end of next year. We're advancing project financing discussions with various parties. In August, we received a preliminary project letter from the U.S. Exon Bank for $1.1 billion in project financing support. This signifies the completion of their Phase I due diligence and allows us to move forward to Phase II and towards a final commitment. We're also in discussions with various commercial banks from which there is strong interest for project financing support. With this 2026 study now published, we're targeting having our financing commitments advanced and in place by the end of this year. As you can see here on the slide, in this picture, the current administration has been extremely supportive of domestic mining and critical minerals to support U.S. industry and supply chain independence. You can see here that our Executive Chairman is sitting alongside Secretary Lutnick and Rubio as well as the President at this historic combining roundtable held in Washington just last month. We were honored to be specifically mentioned by the President relating to our project financing process with USX. Thank you. Back to you, Taylor.

Thanks, Jordan. Our 2026 study confirmed Santa Cruz as the highest-grade, largest scale copper project in the United States capable of producing pure copper metal to supply American industry and support the nation's supply chain security. We're on a short development time line to start delivering that copper in 2029. We've got a great team in Arizona building America's newest large-scale copper catheter producer. At this point, we've concluded our prepared remarks for the presentation. And operator, we turn it back over to you to take any questions. Thanks.

[Operator Instructions] Your first question will come from the line of Andrew Andrew Mikitchook with BMO Capital Markets.