Ivanhoe Mines has formed an exploration joint venture (JV) with UK-based private company Pallas Resources to explore the Chu-Sarysu copper basin in Kazakhstan.
The JV encompasses a licence package of up to 16,000km², 7.5-times larger than Ivanhoe’s nearby Western Forelands package, for its next major copper discovery.
The company has acquired a 20% equity interest in the JV with the option to increase its stake up to 80% over time.
The company is making an initial investment of C$18.7m ($13m) towards exploration activities over two years.
Following the initial period, Ivanhoe can earn the majority interest by investing up to C$115m over four years, with the potential to adjust the exploration programme based on results and prospectivity.
The JV aims to replicate Ivanhoe’s success in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where it has discovered more than 50 million tonnes (mt) of sediment-hosted copper deposits.
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By GlobalDataChu-Sarysu is the world’s “third-largest” sedimentary copper basin behind the central African Copperbelt and Kupferschiefer in Europe.
The basin contains 27mt of known copper resources and is home to deposits such as the Zhezkazgan complex, which produces roughly 200,000 tonnes of copper annually.
The US Geological Survey estimates there is an additional 25mt of undiscovered copper in the basin, suggesting substantial untapped potential. The basin also has occurrences of lead, zinc, silver, barium and strontium.
An initial examination of digitised Soviet-era data identified several potential exploration targets.
Ivanhoe founder and executive co-chairman Robert Friedland said: “The Ivanhoe Group has a long history in Kazakhstan and we look forward to returning to this country to further unlock the significant geological potential of the Chu-Sarysu basin.
“Ivanhoe’s strategic partnership marks an exceptional opportunity to utilise our exploration expertise in one of the world’s most prospective sedimentary copper basins. With over 16,000km² of licence applications in the Chu-Sarysu Basin – the largest land-holding position in the region – we are poised to become one of the most significant global copper exploration stories.
“This partnership marks an excellent addition to our growing copper exploration portfolio to further accompany the rapidly advancing Western Forelands licences adjacent to Kamoa-Kakula. Western Forelands underpins the next stage of our aggressive copper production growth story, and we expect to update the market on these exciting exploration efforts in the Democratic Republic of Congo shortly.”
Kazakhstan sees mining and quarrying as pivotal to its economy, contributing around 14% to its gross domestic product and 17.5% to its exports, equivalent to around $10.5bn (KZT5.23trn).
The country offers an economically advantageous environment for mineral exploration and mining, characterised by a skilled workforce and comparatively low operational costs for both labour and energy.
