Ivanhoe Electric is negotiating potential copper supply agreements for its $1. 4 billion Santa Cruz project in Arizona as demand from data centers, power networks and other infrastructure increases competition for US metal. Chief executive Taylor Melvin said commodity traders and strategic partners have shown interest, though the prospective buyers have not been identified. Any offtake arrangements could include financing for mine development, but no binding agreements have been announced.
The project received a new financing signal in August, when the US Export-Import Bank issued a Preliminary Project Letter outlining up to $1. 1 billion in potential debt financing. The amount is higher than the $825 million indicated in an April 2025 letter of interest after preliminary due diligence. The newer letter is not a financing commitment, and any loan remains subject to further review, approval and conditions. Final consideration by the bank’s board is expected in spring 2027.
Ivanhoe is also discussing project financing with commercial banks and other potential funding partners. The company has applied through EXIM’s Make More in America initiative, which supports projects intended to expand US production capacity and strengthen domestic supply chains. President Donald Trump backed financing for Santa Cruz during an Aug. 7 mining roundtable in Washington, placing the project within broader efforts to increase domestic mineral production.
Santa Cruz is planned as an underground mine near Casa Grande that would produce copper cathode through an on-site heap-leach process rather than conventional smelting. A regulatory filing said the company expects to begin assembling a tunnel-boring machine at the Arizona site in the first quarter of 2027, start decline development later that year and begin placing oxide copper ore on heap-leach pads in the fourth quarter of 2028. First copper cathode production is targeted for the second quarter of 2029.
The company’s earlier feasibility work put initial development costs at about $1. 24 billion, while the current first-phase estimate is $1. 4 billion. The financing process therefore remains central to whether Santa Cruz can meet its planned 2029 start date.