Robbins’ Grosvenor TBM to resurface at Ivanhoe Electric’s Santa Cruz project
Ivanhoe Electric Inc Executive Chairman, Robert Friedland, and President and Chief Executive Officer, Taylor Melvin, have announced that Ivanhoe Electric intends to acquire a purpose-built, Crossover XRE Tunnel Boring Machine and material handling system from The Robbins Company. Robbins is a US-based, global leader in tunnel boring machines and associated technology.
Ivanhoe Electric initially will use the Robbins TBM for decline development at the Santa Cruz Copper Project in Arizona. Robbins recently reacquired the TBM from a division of Anglo American plc, who originally purchased the machine for use at its Grosvenor coal mine in Queensland, Australia, where it successfully completed two declines totalling 1.8 km in 1,000 hours of total use underground.
In late 2025, Ivanhoe Electric identified the opportunity to acquire the Robbins TBM that was on care and maintenance at the Grosvenor coal mine in Queensland, Australia. After a review of the machine’s specifications and history and extensive discussions with Robbins, Ivanhoe Electric secured a legally binding option to acquire the TBM from Robbins in March 2026, subject to completion of due diligence and trade-off studies. Robbins entered into a separate binding agreement to acquire the machine from Anglo. Upon completion of due diligence, including two site visits accompanied by representatives from Robbins to inspect the condition of the machine and critical components, Ivanhoe Electric notified Robbins on May 8 of its intent to exercise its option to acquire the Robbins TBM. The final purchase is subject to completion of definitive agreements, which are expected before the end of this month.
The acquisition of the TBM also provides Ivanhoe Electric with the tunnel boring technology assets to pursue future expansion opportunities at the Santa Cruz Copper Project, including the nearby Texaco Deposit, located approximately 2 km to the northeast of the Santa Cruz Deposit. Significant extensions were identified using Ivanhoe Electric’s proprietary Typhoon surveying technology. Texaco received an initial resource estimate in 2023, with subsequent drilling at the edge of the deposit confirming broad zones of high-grade copper mineralisation that remain open.
The 2025 Preliminary Feasibility Study (PFS) outlined an inferred resource at Texaco totalling 2.7 Mt of contained copper at 0.8% Cu, not included in the current mine plan but supporting meaningful future expansion potential on Ivanhoe Electric’s 100%-owned private land package in one of America’s most established copper mining districts.
Friedland commented: “Tunnel boring machines are state-of-the-art tools custom-built for incredibly safe and efficient development of underground tunnels through all types of ground conditions. Robbins is an American company that pioneered the modern TBM and remains at the forefront of tunneling innovation. TBMs have been deployed globally for more than half a century in mining and countless civil engineering projects. This specific crossover TBM is perfectly suited for accessing our high-grade ore bodies at Santa Cruz and continues the derisking of our mine development with the best tunneling technology America has to offer. Santa Cruz continues its journey to become the next large-scale 99.99% pure copper cathode producer in the United States, delivering the copper that America needs to support industry, technology, and national defense. In addition, owning the TBM gives our engineers the ability to pursue a future phased expansion of the project, including the high-grade Texaco Deposit, a mere two kilometers away.”
Melvin commented: “Our team became aware in late 2025 of the potential availability of the Robbins TBM at Grosvenor. Since that time, we have been engaged in extensive due diligence with Robbins while advancing the detailed engineering of our project. We commend the exhaustive work by our team of engineers over the past few months, in cooperation with Robbins, to arrive at this decision. Acquiring the Robbins Crossover XRE TBM will marry America’s best tunnel boring technology to America’s next great underground porphyry copper producer.”
This specific Robbins Crossover XRE TBM is purpose built to operate in variable ground conditions encountered in underground infrastructure development. The Robbins TBM can move through hard rock, wet and mixed-face ground within a single drive, eliminating cost, schedule and safety risks associated with machine swaps or re-mobilisation, Ivanhoe Electric says. The company’s extensive test work indicates these mixed ground conditions are present through the decline development phase at Santa Cruz, it says.
The Robbins TBM’s earth pressure balance capability pressurises the cutterhead chamber against prevailing groundwater, directly controlling face stability and mitigating inflow through water-bearing zones and aquifer intersections. A bi-directional cutterhead is used for excavation in soft soils, mixed-face and hard rock geology, while a high-torque/high-speed cutterhead drive system delivers the needed power to pass through challenging geology and structures.
During decline development, the TBM system installs a continuous, fully supported and sealed segmental steel-reinforced concrete lining, preserving geotechnical integrity, enhancing long-term safety and producing a permanent, flat-bottomed decline structure suitable for life-of-mine design. The integrated process also includes the construction of a permanent conveyor system for material handling during development and ore handling during production.
As part of Ivanhoe Electric’s purchase, Robbins will perform a substantial overhaul of the machine, which includes a fully refurbished 9.3-m diameter cutterhead manufactured in Ohio. During refurbishment, Robbins will upgrade the machine with current technology, including customised features designed for the geological conditions at the Santa Cruz Copper Project.
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