2026 Exploration Program Drilling Confirms and Expands Broad, Near-Surface Nickel-Copper Mineralization with By-Product Precious Metals
Ivanhoe Electric advances the Santa Cruz pre-feasibility study as its joint venture partner expands its polymetallic footprint.
Sama Resources Inc. (TSXV: SME), the operator of the Samapleu-Grata Nickel-Copper Project and a joint venture partner in which Ivanhoe Electric Inc. holds a 60% interest, announced assay results from its 2026 Yepleu Prospect exploration program. Ivanhoe Electric also owns 22.7% of Sama Resources shares.
Fourteen of the 26 planned holes have returned results, highlighting broad, near-surface nickel-copper mineralization with by-product palladium, platinum, and gold. The best intersection returned 36.15 m at 1.04% CuEq / 0.88% NiEq.
Yepleu is located approximately 25 km south of the existing 2024 PEA area. BBA International Inc. is engaged to prepare an initial mineral resource estimate.
Ivanhoe Electric Inc. (IE) released a standard exploration update regarding a joint venture partner, a development that does not directly alter the company’s financials, production profile, or development timeline. The news reinforces the district-scale potential of the Samapleu-Grata project, though the asset remains pre-resource and pre-economic.
The market did not react to the announcement, with the stock continuing its gradual decline from approximately $11.73 on October 27 to $10.62 on November 11. This movement indicates that investor focus remains on Ivanhoe’s Santa Cruz financing and broader macro factors rather than the JV exploration optionality.
Ivanhoe Electric Inc. (IE) is a technology-driven copper and critical metals exploration and development company. Its flagship asset is the 100%-owned Santa Cruz Copper Project in Arizona, an advanced-stage operation that utilizes a Robbins TBM for underground access and heap leach/SX-EW processing, targeting first cathode production in 2029.
The company also holds joint venture assets, including a 60% stake in the Samapleu-Grata Nickel-Copper Project in Côte d'Ivoire via Sama Resources, a Chile exploration joint venture with SQM, and a joint venture in Saudi Arabia with Maaden. Its core technology includes the Typhoon geophysical surveying system and CGI data inversion software, which are designed to penetrate resistive cover and identify deep mineralization.