Ivanhoe Electric to deploy Typhoon geophysical surveying system across SQM’s northern Chile mining concessions
Ivanhoe Electric Inc has executed a definitive collaboration and exploration agreement with Chile-based mining company Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile to explore for copper in northern Chile.
SQM is a world-leader in the production of lithium, potassium nitrate and iodine from its mining operations in Chile, with one of the largest portfolios of mining concessions in the country. It produces its potassium nitrate and iodine through the exploitation of vast areas of caliche cover in the Atacama Desert. Caliche is a surface deposit of sediments cemented by salts, making it highly electrically resistive and impeding the penetration of low-power geophysical transmitters and their ability to detect underlying sulphide mineralisation. Typhoon
, Ivanhoe Electric’s geophysical surveying system, generates a powerful, clean electrical charge that can penetrate the highly resistive caliche cover to detect potential copper deposits at depth, Ivanhoe Electric claims.
The collaboration establishes the framework for Ivanhoe Electric and SQM to explore certain of SQM’s mining concessions, comprising a total of 2,002 sq.km. Through a jointly run technical committee, the collaboration will use Typhoon and Computational Geosciences Inc.’s (CGI) data inversion software to search for qualifying copper deposits during an initial three-year term. A “Qualifying Copper Deposit” is defined in the collaboration as any deposit with the potential for at least 1 Mt of contained copper or copper equivalent, as determined by an independent geologist.
The collaboration will be funded by SQM with an initial commitment of $9 million. Upon identifying a Qualifying Copper Deposit, Ivanhoe Electric will have the option to acquire a 50% interest in the deposit and form a 50/50 joint venture with SQM by paying a price equal to twice SQM’s exploration expenditures to date. The exercise price will be paid to a new joint venture company and used for further exploration and other related activities. Upon the formation of a joint venture, SQM will contribute the relevant mining concessions and associated exploration data. Thereafter, the joint venture will be funded pro-rata by each of Ivanhoe Electric and SQM.
Ivanhoe Electric Chairman, Robert Friedland, said: “Vast areas of electrically resistive caliche conceal enormous geological potential beneath the surface. Our Typhoon and CGI platform is uniquely capable of seeing through that cover to illuminate what other technologies cannot. Chile has supplied the world with copper for generations and, as demand accelerates, we believe the next wave of world-class copper discoveries will be found hidden beneath these large areas of caliche.”
President and CEO, Taylor Melvin, added: “SQM’s highly prospective mineral concessions and Ivanhoe Electric’s powerful exploration technologies are a perfect combination to search for large-scale copper discoveries in Chile. Working with SQM to deploy our Typhoon and CGI technologies in one of the world’s most important copper-producing regions underscores the confidence in our exploration platform and the capabilities of our team. We are excited to work together with SQM to define our initial exploration programs and begin the systematic search for new copper discoveries in Chile.”
Pablo Altimiras, SQM’s Chief Executive Officer of Iodine & Plant Nutrition Division, said: “This collaboration with Ivanhoe Electric provides SQM with the technology platform to allow the exploration of caliche-covered mining areas, which by their nature are tough to explore using traditional exploration methods. Our exceptional location for copper deposits, exploration expertise, logistics network and operational footprint provide the perfect foundation to deploy these advanced geophysical capabilities. We are confident that this synergy will allow us to unlock the immense potential of our mining concessions and accelerate the discovery of the critical minerals essential for the global energy transition.”
Typhoon was originally developed by Ivanhoe Electric’s former parent I-Pulse Inc. to unlock exploration in areas where potential sulfide mineral deposits are hidden by cover, where target depths exceed the range of conventional geophysical surveying systems, and in environments that have highly resistive surface conditions (such as caliche. It achieves its results through its unique specifications, which include a current output of up to 200 amps and a voltage output of up to 10,000 volts. The transmitter uses switches and capacitance systems which generate an exceptionally pure and stable transmitted signal, resulting in an extremely high signal-to-noise ratio, Ivanhoe Electric says.
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