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Project Description
A joint venture has been established to develop the Chu-Sarysui basin, the world's third largest sedimentary copper basin Robert Friedland, Executive co-chairman of the Canadian company Ivanhoe Mines, reported to President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on the start of large-scale exploration work in the Chu-Sarysui copper basin, the press service of the head of state reported following the meeting. According to Friedland, the company plans to use advanced aerogeophysical technologies and digital data analysis. The joint venture with the British private company Pallas Resources covers a highly promising license package with an area of up to 16,000 km2, covering accumulated Soviet-era intelligence data. For comparison, this license package is about 7.5 times the size of Ivanhoe's Western Foothills exploration project. Ivanhoe has acquired an initial 20% stake in the joint venture's licensing package and is committed to investing US$18.7 million in exploration over the next two years, with the right to receive an equity interest, which will eventually increase ownership to 80%. Exploration work is already underway, including the recruitment of a special group. Ivanhoe's joint venture partner, Pallas Resources, a British company, has collected and digitized a large set of Soviet-era exploration data covering the license package. A preliminary analysis of the digitized historical data set has identified a number of potential sites that will be further explored after the completion of the aerogeophysical research program later this year. At the end of the two-year period, Ivanhoe has the right to obtain a controlling stake by spending up to $115 million, provided that the entire license package is maintained over the next four years. Additional exploration costs are at Ivanhoe's discretion, depending on each license, and the company has the right to adjust the program accordingly depending on the success and prospects of exploration. In the event of the discovery of a new large copper deposit, Ivanhoe may receive up to 80% of the share capital through financing and completion of a pre-feasibility study. Project locations Chu-Sarysu Basin, central / southern Kazakhstan (license areas spread across the basin)
Project Phase:
Initiation & Feasibility
Investment Value:
18 700 000 $
Location:
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Start Date:
5/28/2025
End Date:
1/1/2029
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Other important details
Robert Friedland, Founder and Executive Co-chairman of Ivanhoe, commented: "Perhaps you are wondering why we are going to Kazakhstan? Because Kazakhstan is the largest mining jurisdiction and the deposit of the world's third largest sedimentary copper basin. Ivanhoe Group has a long history of working in Kazakhstan... we love this country, we love its people and we look forward to returning to this amazing country to further unlock the significant geological potential of the Chu-Sarysui basin.
The Chu-Sarysui basin is the world's third largest copper basin after the Central African Copper Belt and the European Kupfershifer, it contains 27 million tons of proven copper reserves.
It includes large deposits such as the 100-year-old Zhezkazgan complex containing more than 22 million tons of copper. This huge complex produces about 200,000 tons of copper per year, as well as a significant amount of associated silver, at one open pit mine and six underground mines.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimates that about 25 million tons of undiscovered copper reserves remain in the Chu-Sarysui basin, indicating its untapped potential. In addition, the basin contains deposits of lead, zinc, silver, barium and strontium. Despite the significant prospects, exploration work on new deposits has not been carried out in the entire region for more than 40 years.
Strategic financing: Ivanhoe Mines will initially finance the project alone in the amount of USD 18.7 million over two years, with the option to invest up to USD115 million over four years to obtain a 51% stake in the joint ventures.
Focused exploration: The partnership will focus on large-scale geophysical surveys, exploration mapping, and geochemical campaigns to identify promising sites.
World-class expertise: The alliance combines Pallas' extensive datasets and local expertise with Ivanhoe Mines' world—renowned experience in exploring copper deposits in sedimentary rocks, demonstrated by their discovery of the Kamoa-Kakula complex, currently the third largest copper mine in the world.
Publication/Revision Date:
10/9/2025