An underground access tunnel represents the engineering focus of Ivanhoe Electric’s redesigned Santa Cruz copper project in Arizona.
By Mo Shine
SEO metadata
- Primary keyword: Ivanhoe Electric Santa Cruz copper financing
- Meta title: Ivanhoe Electric: Santa Cruz copper financing advances
- Meta description: Ivanhoe Electric is pursuing up to $1.1 billion in potential EXIM debt for its Santa Cruz copper project in Arizona as it redesigns underground access to reduce groundwater risk.
- Suggested slug:
ivanhoe-electric-santa-cruz-copper-financing - Category: Copper, Critical Minerals, Project Finance
Ivanhoe Electric is advancing plans to raise more than $1 billion in U.S.-backed debt for its Santa Cruz copper project in Arizona, but the company’s largest potential funding source remains subject to review and approval.
The Export-Import Bank of the United States has raised its potential support for the project to about $1.1 billion under a Preliminary Project Letter, according to Ivanhoe Electric’s public disclosures and comments summarized by The Northern Miner. The company has framed that support as potential financing still subject to EXIM review and any required board approval.
The letter is not a financing commitment. Any loan would remain conditional on completion of EXIM’s technical, environmental, financial and policy reviews, as well as a final board decision.
The financing effort comes as Ivanhoe Electric reshapes the underground access plan for Santa Cruz. The company is replacing the earlier twin-decline concept with a single tunnel to be excavated by a Robbins Crossover XRE tunnel boring machine. The redesign is intended to reduce exposure to variable ground conditions and groundwater during construction.
The project is located near Casa Grande, approximately 40 miles southeast of Phoenix, on about 6,000 acres of privately owned land. Ivanhoe Electric is positioning Santa Cruz as a potential source of domestically produced copper cathode for U.S. industrial and energy-transition markets.
EXIM support has advanced, but funding is not committed
Ivanhoe Electric has said EXIM’s potential support for Santa Cruz has increased to about $1.1 billion from an earlier $825 million indication. The company and The Northern Miner’s CEO interview summary both describe that amount as potential debt financing, not committed funding.
The potential financing is being pursued under EXIM’s Make More in America initiative, which supports qualifying domestic projects intended to expand U.S. production capacity and strengthen critical supply chains.
The distinction between potential and committed funding is central to the project’s financing outlook.
A Preliminary Project Letter indicates EXIM may continue evaluating the transaction. It does not establish final loan terms, guarantee a specific amount or remove the need for additional financing. Any loan remains subject to EXIM diligence, internal process and board approval.
The company is also in discussions around other debt and non-debt funding sources. As of June, Ivanhoe Electric said it had more than $250 million in cash and a $200 million undrawn credit line, giving it liquidity while project financing discussions continue.
The company’s EXIM announcement and other Ivanhoe Electric public disclosures provide the formal financing record cited in this article.
70/30 debt-equity structure remains a concept
Ivanhoe Electric has described a potential project-finance structure centered on roughly 70% debt and 30% equity or other non-debt capital.
That remains a financing concept rather than a completed capital structure. The final mix would depend on lender due diligence, project risks, construction planning, copper price assumptions, permitting and the terms of any strategic or commercial agreements.
The potential EXIM debt should therefore not be interpreted as evidence that Santa Cruz has secured all required debt or equity. It also should not be treated as a final loan amount. Any EXIM support remains subject to review and board approval, and the size and conditions of any facility could change during the process.
Santa Cruz financing and development markers
| Item | Current position |
|---|---|
| Potential EXIM debt | About $1.1 billion under a Preliminary Project Letter, subject to EXIM review and board approval |
| Earlier EXIM indication | Up to $825 million |
| Potential capital structure | Roughly 70% debt and 30% equity or other non-debt funding |
| Liquidity as of June | More than $250 million in cash and a $200 million undrawn credit line |
| 2025 PFS after-tax value | About $1.4 billion |
| Average copper output in first 15 years | Roughly 72,000 tonnes per year |
| First ore on leach pads | Expected in 2028 |
| First copper cathode target | Expected in 2029 |
The table separates potential long-term project financing from the company’s reported liquidity and project milestones.
Tunnel redesign targets groundwater risk
The largest technical change since the 2025 PFS is the planned underground access system.
Ivanhoe Electric intends to use a redesigned single-tunnel access approach for Santa Cruz. The company has said the change is intended to reduce groundwater risk compared with the earlier development plan.
The company has tied that redesign to the planned use of a Robbins tunnel boring machine as part of the access development strategy.
Surface preparation and access works are expected to precede construction of the Santa Cruz underground portal.
Ivanhoe Electric has said the revised access plan should reduce the risk of driving through groundwater and variable ground conditions.
The redesign replaces the twin declines described in the 2025 prefeasibility study. The groundwater issue remains a project risk rather than a resolved matter, and the effectiveness of the revised approach will need to be demonstrated during construction and assessed through updated technical work and lender due diligence.
Construction schedule now points to 2029 cathode
The revised access plan changes the timing of development.
Ivanhoe Electric has said box-cut and portal work may begin soon, with tunnel boring expected around mid-2027.
The company expects first ore to reach the leach pads in 2028.
First copper cathode production is expected in 2029.
That represents a later timeline than the 2025 prefeasibility study, and Ivanhoe Electric has tied the revised schedule to the redesigned tunnel and construction sequence.
The project is designed to produce copper cathode through heap leaching, solvent extraction and electrowinning.
PFS economics underpin the financing case
The 2025 PFS described Santa Cruz as an underground copper project with a projected 23-year mine life.
The study projected average copper production of roughly 72,000 tonnes per year during the first 15 years.
Ivanhoe Electric’s 2025 prefeasibility study also valued the project at about $1.4 billion after tax.
Those figures are study estimates, not operating results. They depend on the mine plan, capital and operating costs, copper prices, recovery assumptions, permitting, construction performance and the successful completion of project financing.
Until updated technical work is published, the 2025 study remains the primary public basis for evaluating the project’s production and economic profile.
What lenders will watch next
For EXIM and commercial lenders, the next phase will involve more than confirming the size of the copper resource. Key issues are likely to include the final tunnel design, groundwater management, construction execution, permitting, copper price assumptions and the availability of equity or strategic capital.
Ivanhoe Electric’s progress therefore marks an advance in financing discussions, not a completed funding package. The project has a defined mine plan, reported liquidity and a potential EXIM anchor loan. It still needs final approvals and sufficient committed capital to move from early construction into full project development.
Related Skillings coverage
- Copper price forecast: deficit math, consolidation and scenarios
- Critical minerals supply chain: drivers, risks and scenarios
- Copper mining: Mt Lyell restart clears approval, output eyed for 2029
- Skillings Mining Intelligence copper coverage
Primary sources
- The Northern Miner report on Ivanhoe Electric’s Santa Cruz debt strategy
- Ivanhoe Electric: Santa Cruz Copper Project
- Ivanhoe Electric’s EXIM Preliminary Project Letter
- Santa Cruz Preliminary Feasibility Study
- Robbins TBM acquisition and Santa Cruz access redesign
Editorial note: Financing amounts, development schedules, production estimates and economic projections are subject to change. Any EXIM support discussed in this article is potential only and remains subject to review and board approval. Santa Cruz production and economic figures cited here are based on company technical studies and other forward-looking disclosures.
