Ivanhoe Electric's $3.5 Billion Copper PFS, Artemis Gold Buys Mt Todd, and Copper Hits New Highs

September 23, 2026 | Host: Logan Ore | Runtime: ~11 minutes

Stories covered:
1. Ivanhoe Electric 2026 Santa Cruz Copper PFS — Arizona, $1.43B initial capex, 75,000t/yr copper cathode (first 15 yrs), $3.5B after-tax NPV at $6.79/lb copper, 30% IRR, Robbins TBM; base case $4.75/lb = $1.5B NPV/19% IRR; US EXIM $1.1B financing discussions; first copper Q2 2029
2. Artemis Gold acquires Vista Gold for $427M all-share — Mt Todd 9.1Moz Australia Northern Territory, 29% premium to 20-day VWAP; Blackwater EP2 to 500koz mid-2028; pathway to 1M oz/yr; CEO Dale Andres quote; close Q1 2027
3. Copper surges to $6.91/lb COMEX, LME $14,788/t — +47% YoY; Sprott supply crunch: Chile -9.4% YoY, Grasberg/Kamoa 600,000t removed, Cochilco cut to 5.27Mt
4. Barrick Loulo-Gounkoto Mali strike — 5 days to September 28 deadline, no resolution announced; mine workers, catering contractor, national mining regulator all filed

Sources:
- TradingView/TMX Newsfile (Ivanhoe Electric 2026 PFS): https://www.tradingview.com/news/tmx_newsfile:a7317b6a7094b:0-2026-preliminary-feasibility-study-for-the-santa-cruz-copper-project-in-arizona-confirms-high-grade-low-cost-project-with-strong-economics/
- Vista Gold/Business Wire (Artemis/Vista merger): https://www.vistagold.com/news/news-2026/920-rtemisoldgreestocquireistaoldddingandvance20260921035004
- Westmetall (LME copper): https://www.westmetall.com/en/markdaten.php?action=table&field=LME_Cu_cash
- Investing.com (COMEX copper): https://www.investing.com/commodities/copper-historical-data
- Reuters (Barrick Mali strike): https://www.reuters.com/business/world-at-work/multiple-unions-threaten-strikes-barricks-flagship-mali-gold-mine-documents-show-2026-09-18/