Ivanhoe Mines and the Democratic Republic of Congo’s President reaffirm joint commitment to support the development of the country’s unrivalled mineral potential and to accelerate economic growth and employment WASHINGTON, D.C. ─ Robert Friedland and Yufeng “Miles”
April 8, 2019
Ivanhoe Mines and the Democratic Republic of Congo’s President
reaffirm joint commitment to support the development
of the country’s unrivalled mineral potential
and to accelerate economic growth and employment
WASHINGTON, D.C. ─ Robert Friedland and Yufeng “Miles” Sun, Co-Chairmen of
Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN; OTCQX: IVPAF), announced today that they were very
honoured by the warm welcome that they received from President Félix Tshisekedi of
the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during his official state visit to Washington,
D.C. last week. Mr. Friedland and Mr. Sun expressed strong support for the president’s
commitment to attract foreign investment and to accelerate the development of the
DRC’s unparalleled mineral potential for the benefit of all stakeholders, as a key element
of the country's economic transformation.
On April 6, Mr. Friedland and Mr. Sun, along with senior Ivanhoe executives ─ Egizio
Bianchini (Executive Vice Chairman), Louis Watum (Managing Director, DRC
Operations), Matthieu Bos (Vice President, Corporate Development), Peter Zhou (Vice
President, Chief Representative China) and Lily Tshimpumpu (Director of DRC
Government Relations) ─ met with the newly elected president. Michael Hammer, United
States Ambassador to the DRC, as well as other US and DRC government officials, also
were in attendance.
Discussions were focused on updating the president on the rapid progress being made
in the development of the Kamoa-Kakula Project, a joint venture between Ivanhoe, Zijin
Mining Group and the DRC government, and the Kipushi Project, a joint venture
between Ivanhoe and La Générale des Carrières et des Mines (Gécamines), the DRC
state-owned mining company. In addition, Ivanhoe updated the president on the
company’s exploration programs in the DRC’s Lualaba Province (part of the former
Katanga Province), that may be expanded to include prospective areas of the country’s
Kasai Province.
Mr. Friedland and Mr. Sun committed to introduce the president and the DRC
government to CITIC Group’s broad capabilities to engineer, construct and finance
major infrastructure projects, including highways, railways, ports, bridges and
agricultural development that could assist with the economic transformation of the
DRC. The president extended an invitation to the senior leadership of CITIC Group to
visit the DRC for further meetings to discuss a deep and long-term cooperation.
“We share President Tshisekedi’s determination to develop a strong partnership
between international mining companies and the Democratic Republic of Congo,” said
Mr. Friedland. “This is a time of historic opportunity for responsible development of the
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mining sector in the DRC. We look forward to working with all members of the newly-
elected government to introduce the Democratic Republic of Congo to investors around
the globe. With the continued support of the government, Kamoa-Kakula is on track to
become one of the world’s greatest copper mining complexes, helping to cement the
DRC as a global, top tier copper producer. The Kipushi Project will benefit from similar
support and propel the DRC to become a significant zinc producer as well.
“We are confident that CITIC Metal and its parent CITIC Group have the experience,
financial resources and a shared commitment to our objective of advancing these
world-class projects to production as quickly as possible, and that they have the skills
and capability to assist with the country’s rail, road and power infrastructure
redevelopment and expansion. We also are confident that CITIC's comprehensive
capabilities will help Ivanhoe strengthen our business relationships with the DRC
government and with local communities near our mining projects.
“This relationship will create value for all our stakeholders in the Democratic Republic
of Congo. By working closely with our partners and the government, collectively we will
generate widely shared economic benefits that will generate sustainable employment
and relevant skills training to ensure that young Congolese will qualify for the
thousands of meaningful direct and indirect jobs that will be created.”
In the DRC, Ivanhoe and Zijin are focused on the development of a Tier One copper
mining complex at Kamoa-Kakula, which was a greenfield discovery made by Ivanhoe’s
geological team that triumphed after more than a decade of intensive effort. Kamoa-
Kakula is projected to become one of the world’s top three copper mines. Together with
Gécamines, Ivanhoe is undertaking the rebirth of the historic Kipushi zinc-copper-
germanium-silver mine. Ivanhoe also is exploring for new copper discoveries on its
wholly-owned Western Foreland exploration licences, west of the Kamoa-Kakula mining
licence.
The Kamoa-Kakula Project is a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines, Zijin Mining
Group, Crystal River Global Limited and the DRC government. The Kipushi Project is a
joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines and Gécamines.
About Ivanhoe Mines
Ivanhoe Mines is a Canadian mining company focused on advancing its three principal
projects in Southern Africa: the development of new mines at the Kamoa-Kakula copper
discovery in the DRC and the Platreef palladium-platinum-nickel-copper-gold discovery
in South Africa; and the extensive redevelopment and upgrading of the historic Kipushi
zinc-copper-germanium-silver mine, also in the DRC. The company also is exploring for
new copper discoveries on its wholly-owned Western Foreland exploration licences,
adjacent to the Kamoa-Kakula mining licence.
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Information contacts
Investors
North America: Bill Trenaman +1.604.331.9834
North America: Egizio Bianchini +1.416.862.5256
Europe: Matthieu Bos +44.20.7591.1120
Asia: Peter Zhou +86.10.5662.1988
Media
North America: Kimberly Lim +1.778.996.8510
South Africa: Jeremy Michaels +27.82.772.1122