Ma'aden and Ivanhoe Electric will form a 50/50 exploration joint venture in Saudi Arabia to explore for copper, nickel, gold, silver and other electric metals. Ivanhoe Electric is the operator of the Joint Venture during the exploration phase, and Ma'aden will become the operator for the development of any economically viable deposits found and specifically designated by the Joint Venture. The Joint Venture will deploy the Typhoon geophysical surveying system in the largest exploration program ever conducted using the technology.

Typhoon is the brand name for Ivanhoe Electric's proprietary electrical geophysical surveying transmitter, which can detect the presence of sulfide minerals containing copper, nickel, gold and silver (as well as water and oil). The technology was developed by Ivanhoe Electric's former parent, I-Pulse Inc. of Toulouse, France, to unlock exploration in areas where potential deposits are hidden by cover, where target depths exceed the range of conventional geophysical surveying systems, or where the scale and topography of an exploration target area prevents efficient and cost-effective conventional surveying. Typhoon consists of highly sophisticated capacitors and switches derived from I-Pulse technology.

A subsidiary of Ivanhoe Electric holds the relevant patents, however I-Pulse has the right to use Typhoon in non-mineral exploration activities, including in geothermal and in the exploration for water and oil. The I-Pulse suite of technologies which led the development of Typhoon, compresses and releases stored electricity in billionths of a second. These extremely high-powered electric discharges underpin the Typhoon system and are also used by I-Pulse in other applications, including to shape and assemble metals in advanced manufacturing and to quickly and efficiently shatter rock containing minerals or gemstones.

Typhoon achieves its results through its unique specifications, which include a current output of up to 200 amps and a voltage output of up to 10,000 volts. The transmitter uses switches and capacitance systems which generate a very pure and stable transmitted signal, resulting in an extremely high signal-to-noise ratio. Typhoon is also capable of transmitting both induced polarization and electromagnetic signals, meaning that the same transmitter can be used to search for a wide variety of mineral deposit types.

Ivanhoe Electric currently has three Typhoon units, one of which will be deployed to Saudi Arabia in the near-term for use by the Joint Venture. Three more Typhoon units will be purchased by the Joint Venture from I-Pulse. The first of these new generation Typhoon units is expected to be delivered in first half 2024.