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    Robbins Grosvenor TBM at Ivanhoe Electric Santa Cruz: access design notes for engineers

    May 13, 2026|

    Reviewed by Tom Sullivan

    Robbins Grosvenor TBM at Ivanhoe Electric Santa Cruz: access design notes for engineers

    First reported on International Mining – News

    30 Second Briefing

    Ivanhoe Electric plans to acquire Robbins’ purpose-built Crossover XRE tunnel boring machine and material handling system, previously used at Anglo American’s Grosvenor coal mine, for its Santa Cruz copper project in Arizona. The mixed-face XRE TBM is designed to handle both hard rock and soft ground, allowing continuous, segmentally lined access tunnels instead of conventional drill-and-blast shafts. For geotechnical and mine development teams, this signals potential for faster, lower-disturbance underground access in complex ground conditions typical of Arizona copper deposits.

    Technical Brief

    • Re‑use of a proven TBM and conveyor package cuts lead time versus ordering a new-build machine.

    Our Take

    Ivanhoe Electric features repeatedly in our recent coverage, from the US federal critical minerals push to its Copperwood and Chile exploration work, signalling that Santa Cruz is one of several parallel copper-focused growth platforms rather than a standalone bet.

    Robert Friedland’s presence in both the US policy-related critical minerals coverage and this Santa Cruz item underlines how Ivanhoe Electric is positioning its projects to align with US supply security narratives, which can materially influence permitting timelines and access to public-backed financing.

    The Santa Cruz project now sits alongside Ivanhoe Electric’s collaboration with SQM in northern Chile in our database, suggesting the company is balancing brownfield-style development and advanced underground access (such as TBM use) in the US with earlier-stage, large-footprint copper exploration in Latin America.

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    Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.

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