The energy transition will require a lot more copper. Now, two of the most important companies in mining are teaming up to find more of it in the United States.
What’s happening:
- Mining giant BHP (NYSE: BHP) and Ivanhoe Electric (NYSE: IE) have announced a new joint venture partnership focused on finding new copper deposits in the United States
How it works:
- BHP will provide $15M USD in new capital to begin advancing new exploration projects and Ivanhoe Electric will leverage their leading edge Typhoon geophysical survey systems and machine learning technology to identify potential copper deposits
- The joint venture will begin with an initial focus on pre identified locations in Utah, Arizona and New Mexico that BHP and Ivanhoe Electric believe may contain copper deposits at great depths
Why it matters:
- Copper is one of the most important metals for the energy transition and the push for electrification globally, however there is a lack of large scale copper mines currently in production
Going deeper:
- Ivanhoe Electric recently used their Typhoon geophysical survey system for one of the largest mining exploration projects ever conducted in Saudi Arabia
- The Saudi Arabian exploration project is a joint venture between Ivanhoe Electric and state owned mining company Ma’aden
The intrigue:
- The pursuit of finding new copper discoveries recently led Bill Gates backed KoBold Metals to enter into a new partnership aimed to using artificial intelligence and machine learning to identify new copper deposits in Zambia
