Ivanhoe Electric intends to acquire a purpose-built, Crossover XRE Tunnel Boring Machine and material handling system from The Robbins Company for decline development at its Santa Cruz copper project in Casa Grande, Ariz.
Robbins recently acquired the TBM from a division of Anglo American, which originally purchased the machine for use at its Grosvenor coal mine in Queensland, Australia, where it completed two declines totaling 1.8 kilometers in 1,000 hours of total use underground.
“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,” said Ivanhoe Electric President and Chief Executive Officer Taylor Melvin.
“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 2 kilometers away.”
As part of Ivanhoe Electric’s purchase, Robbins will perform a substantial overhaul of the machine, which includes a fully refurbished 9.3-meter diameter cutterhead manufactured in Ohio. During refurbishment, Robbins will upgrade the machine with current technology, including customized features designed for the geological conditions at the Santa Cruz project.
Source: Ivanhoe Electric