Kamoa-Kakula produces record 103,947 tonnes of copper in Q3
Ivanhoe Mines has announced that the Kamoa-Kakula copper complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) produced a record 103,947 tonnes of copper in concentrate in Q3 2023.
The company said that Kamoa-Kakula’s Phase 1 and 2 concentrators milled 2.24 million tonnes of ore during the quarter at an average grade of 5.55% copper, adding that “strong” copper recoveries continued for the quarter, averaging 87.2%.
According to Ivanhoe, the third quarter brings Kamoa-Kakula’s year-to-date production to 301,336 tonnes of copper in concentrate, which includes the ramp-up of the debottlenecking initiatives since February 2023.
Importantly, the company pointed out that the 2023 annual production guidance for Kamoa-Kakula is maintained at between 390,000 to 430,000 tonnes of copper in concentrate.
Ivanhoe also said that Kamoa-Kakula’s Phase 3 expansion, consisting of two new underground mines known as Kamoa 1 and Kamoa 2 and a new, 5-million-tonne-per-annum concentrator plant, is well on track for first production in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Overall project progress of the Phase 3 concentrator is now approximately 56% complete, it added.
More importantly, Ivanhoe reported that the 500,000 tonnes-per-annum copper smelter, which will be the largest in Africa and one of the largest in the world, is on target for starting production in the fourth quarter of 2024.
“The smelter project is now approximately 58% complete and is on target for commissioning in the fourth quarter of 2024,” it said.
The company noted that upon commencement of Phase 3 production, the Kamoa-Kakula copper complex will have a processing capacity of 14.2 million tonnes per annum. As a result, the copper production capacity will increase to approximately 650,000 tonnes per annum.
“This production rate will position the Kamoa-Kakula copper complex as the third-largest copper mining operation in the world,” Ivanhoe said.
The company also said that the project’s phased expansion scenario to 19 Mtpa would position Kamoa-Kakula as the world’s second-largest copper mining complex, with peak annual copper production of more than 800,000 tonnes.
The Kamoa-Kakula mining complex is operated by Kamoa Copper, a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines (39.6%), Zijin Mining Group (39.6%), Crystal River Global (0.8%) and the DRC government (20%).
