Ivanhoe Electric plans to tackle US copper shortage with new Arizona mine

The United States has a copper problem. Simply put, the United States uses many of them and there is not enough American mines to pull them from the ground with enough speed. But Evanho Electric is moving towards the first US-based company to open the copper mine in the United States more than a decade-and with the launch of copper prices to record highlands, the timing cannot be better.

president Donald Trump issued an executive order in March in the hope of adding copper to the list of critical minerals, which would accelerate the permit and provide tax incentives to mining companies. On July 8, the president announced a 50 % tariff on copper imports starting from August 1.

The United States only produces about half of the copper it uses, as it ranks fifth in production behind Chile, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Peru and China. Part of the reason is that it takes 29 years on average until copper mines begin to produce, due to the long permit and approval.

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But the Santa Cruz project in Ivanho is an electrician, about 40 miles south of Phoenix in Casa Grande, Arizona, aims to be on its way to run by 2028, just eight years after the project started.

“It seems like tomorrow in mining conditions. It is incredibly fast and incredibly incredibly,” said Taylor Melfin, president and CEO of Tempe, which is based in Timby. “One of our great advantages is the land here in Arizona. It allows us to perform a more simplified permit, which allows us to obtain a more accelerating timetable for construction and production.”

The company collects basic samples throughout the 6000 acres of land, and planning the best sites that I must. The underground mine will be, and there is enough copper to produce approximately 3 billion pounds of copper over the next 23 years. Upon completion, “in the five or sixth centers will place us in the United States,” says Melfin.

Santa Cruise Mine Project in Santa Cruz in Casa Grande, Arizona. (Evanho Electrical / Fox News)

The return of copper in the United States to work from miners with high demand

Another advantage of the mine is how to extract copper. There are only two copper melodies in the United States, which means that a lot of copper that is mined abroad is shipped to be treated. But Evanho’s electrical will use the lifting to extract copper, due to the crude properties located in the Santa Cruise mine site.

“We will produce the pure copper metal on this site ready for consumption by American consumers,” Melfin said.

And the Americans – and the rest of the world – are ready to consume much more. According to the International Energy Agency, the demand for copper was about 26 million tons in 2024. In 2050, this number is expected to reach about 40 million tons.

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But there is one major problem: many mines will be empty by that time, which means that production has been appointed to decrease unless new mines have been created.

“Copper is a completely decisive metal. We need copper for every aspect of our economy. We need to expand and improve our electrical network. We need to support technological progress such as artificial intelligence and data centers required to support artificial intelligence. We fully need copper for our defense industry.” “So it is really difficult to imagine more important metal and a higher size than copper.”

The demand for copper was about 26 million tons in 2024, according to the International Energy Agency. (Dennis Charlit) (AFP) (Dennis Charlit / AFP photography via Getty Images) / Getty Images)

This leaves Ivanhoe Electric and other US copper companies in a strong position. The construction of the Santa Cruise 900 full -time project will be employed, as it decreased to about 600 years after completion and during the mining stage. Several positions will pay six numbers, and all jobs are guaranteed for the next 25 years.

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With Trump’s support and with the formal transportation of copper to the critical metal list, mining companies have positive expectations.

“During the 25 years of natural resources in the copper mining industry, I have never seen a more supportive environment for local mining than we have now,” Melfin said. “We are in the ideal time in the ideal time with the project. To be an American company with a product in the United States on private land that can produce copper minerals to provide the ideal domestic demand at the time of Ivanho, a great environment in the United States for local mining at the present time.”