Ivanhoe Mines has formed a joint venture (JV) to explore Chu-Sarysu Basin, the world’s third-largest sedimentary copper basin located in Kazakhstan.
The company plans to invest $18.7 million in exploration over an initial two year period. Exploration activities are underway, including the hiring of a dedicated exploration team. An airborne geophysics contract is currently under tender and is expected to be awarded imminently.
“Kazakhstan is a major mining jurisdiction and host to the world’s third largest sedimentary copper basin,” said Ivanhoe founder and executive co-chairman Robert Friedland.
“Ivanhoe’s strategic partnership marks an exceptional opportunity to utilize our exploration expertise in one of the world’s most prospective sedimentary copper basins. With over 16,000 km² of license 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.”
According to him, the new JV complements the company’s growing copper exploration portfolio, including Western Forelands licenses adjacent to Kamoa-Kakula project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimates that there remains approximately 25 million tonnes of undiscovered copper in the Chu-Sarysu Basin. In addition, the basin includes occurrences of lead, zinc, silver, barium and strontium. Despite its significant prospectivity, greenfield exploration has been largely neglected across the entire region for over 40 years.
Theodor Lisovoy, Managing Editor, Rough&Polished
