Ivanhoe Mines announces Kamoa-Kakula copper production guidance for 2026 and 2027 as recovery plan advances
December 3, 2025
Ivanhoe Mines announces Kamoa-Kakula copper production
guidance for 2026 and 2027 as recovery plan advances
■
2026 copper production range 380,000 to 420,000 tonnes and
2027 copper production range 500,000 to 540,000 tonnes
■
2026 copper sales expected to exceed production as surplus
concentrate inventory at smelter is cleared; first feed is
expected at the end of December
■
Medium-term annualized copper production target
maintained at 550,000 tonnes
■
Kakula Mine Stage 2 dewatering progressing well at over 60%
complete; high-capacity submersible pumps lowered to
continue dewatering efforts
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN) (OTCQX: IVPAF)
Executive Co-Chairman Robert Friedland and President and Chief Executive
Officer Marna Cloete announce today Kamoa-Kakula’s copper production
guidance for 2026 and 2027, as well as an update on the Kakula Mine’s
dewatering activities.
Dewatering of the Kakula Mine is progressing well, with dewatering
approximately 70% complete on the western side of the mine and 60% complete
on the eastern side. To date, 13.4 kilometres of underground workings have been
rehabilitated and made safe for resumption of operations, including 4.6
kilometres which were dewatered.
Positive progress to date on underground rehabilitation, along with ongoing mine
planning, provides Kamoa-Kakula’s management team with sufficient confidence
to issue copper production guidance of 380,000 to 420,000 tonnes for 2026 and
500,000 to 540,000 tonnes for 2027. Kamoa-Kakula is still targeting medium-term
production of approximately 550,000 tonnes. An updated life-of-mine plan for
Kamoa-Kakula is on target for completion in late Q1 2026.
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Following the commencement of the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Smelter as
announced on December 1, 2025, copper sales in 2026 are expected to be higher
than copper production as the on-site inventory of unsold copper concentrate is
destocked by approximately 20,000 tonnes of copper.
Ivanhoe Mines Founder and Executive Co-Chairman Robert Friedland
commented:
“The turnaround at Kamoa-Kakula is advancing with confidence. Even during the
recovery years of 2025 and 2026, this remarkable copper complex is set to
produce approximately 400,000 tonnes of copper … an extraordinary testament to
the quality of Kamoa-Kakula’s world-leading natural endowment. As we move
through this transition and into the next phase of growth in the coming years,
Kamoa-Kakula and the Western Forelands will become one of the largest, if not
the largest, copper complexes in the world. Our stakeholders are blessed with a
Tier-One mining complex that will operate for generations to come.
“We are also on the cusp of a transformational change for Kamoa-Kakula and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo as we transition from producing copper in
concentrate in huge volumes, to producing copper anodes for sale to consumers
all over the world, at our own smelter complex, the largest in Africa.”
Ivanhoe Mines President and Chief Executive Officer Marna Cloete commented:
“We extend our deepest gratitude to the entire team at Kamoa-Kakula for their
unwavering dedication throughout the dewatering and rehabilitation of the Kakula
Mine. They have worked under pressure, and done so with discipline, resilience,
and an unshakable commitment to doing things the right way. Most importantly,
they have carried out this demanding work with an outstanding focus on safety.
Their dedication and professionalism are the foundation of our progress, and we
are extremely proud of their achievements.”
Kakula copper grades improving as dewatering activities re-open
higher-grade mining areas
The revised Kakula mine design has been developed based on geotechnical
expert guidance, including new pillar designs and extraction sequencing.
Mining rates on the western side of Kakula have increased to an average rate of
350,000 tonnes per month, equivalent to 4.2 million tonnes (Mt) annualized.
Mining activities have been focused on higher-elevation areas in the north and
southwest, where copper grades are lower than those of the higher-grade centre
section. As water levels on the western side recede, mining crews are advancing
towards the high-grade centre section, where grades increase to between 3.5%
and 4.0% from mid-December.
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Mining rates at Kakula are expected to improve gradually through 2026. Selective
mining within the existing workings on the eastern side of the Kakula Mine is
expected to start in Q1 2026, augmenting rising production rates from higher-
grade areas on Kakula’s western side. This is expected to increase production
rates to 450,000 tonnes per month, or 5.5 Mtpa annualized, by the end of the
quarter. In addition, underground development towards a new mining area further
to the east is expected to begin mining ore from mid-year 2026.
Approximately 6 Mt of ore is expected to be mined at Kakula during 2026, which
is expected to increase to between 7 and 8 Mt during 2027. Grades are expected
to range from 3.5% to 4.5% during this period. Approximately 70% of the ore will
be sourced from the western side of the Kakula Mine during 2026, which will
reduce during 2027 as new mining areas on the eastern side are opened up. All
ore mined from the Kakula Mine will be processed by the Phase 1 and 2
concentrators.
Mining rate of the Kamoa mines targeted to increase to 10 million
tonnes per annum in 2027, filling the Phase 3 concentrator and
supporting the Phase 1 and 2 concentrators
The combined annualized mining rate of Kamoa 1, Kamoa 2 and Kansoko
underground mines (the Kamoa mines) is targeted to increase from
approximately 6.5 Mt currently, to approximately 8.5 Mt in 2026 and to over 10 Mt
in 2027. Grades from the Kamoa mines are expected to average approximately
2.5% during this period.
Increased mining rates will be supported by a newly commissioned belt at Kamoa
1, new mine accesses at Kansoko Sud to improve efficiency and new mine
accesses at Kamoa 2 to increase the number of underground crews. Mining
efficiency is also expected to improve through increased end availability and
redundancy, as well as other productivity enhancements.
The Kamoa mines are operating in accordance with similar geotechnical expert
guidance, incorporating learnings from Kakula.
The increased mining rate will enable the Kamoa mine to feed the Phase 3
concentrator and provide supplementary feed to the Phase 1 and 2 concentrators,
as shown in Figure 1.
Total processing capacity of Phase 1, 2 and 3 concentrators to reach
17 million tonnes per annum from 2027
The Phase 1 and 2 concentrators will continue to process ore from the western
side of the Kakula Mine and surface stockpiles until Q1 2026 when the stockpiles
are depleted. In addition, from Q1 2026, Phase 1 and 2 will be supplemented with
an increasing quantity of ore from the eastern side of Kakula, as well as ore
trammed from Kamoa.
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In 2026, approximately 2 Mt of ore from Kamoa is expected to be processed by
the Phase 1 and 2 concentrators. In 2027, this is expected to increase to 2.5 Mt.
The Phase 1 and 2 concentrators have demonstrated combined operating
capacity of 10.5 Mtpa, or 5.25 Mtpa per line, since various de-bottlenecking
activities were completed.
The Phase 3 concentrator will continue to process at a rate of 6.5 Mt per annum,
which has also been demonstrated over many months of operations, fed by the
Kamoa mines.
The recoveries of the Phase 1 and 2 concentrators are expected to improve
following the completion of Project 95 in Q2 2026, after which recoveries are
expected to increase to approximately 95% over time. A similar capital project to
increase copper recoveries from Phase 3 to approximately 92% is under
consideration but not included in the 2026 or 2027 production profile.
Figure 1. Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex processing strategy by mining
area in 2026 and 2027 (Mt)
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Updated life-of-mine integrated development plan on track for Q1 2026;
targeting return of annualized copper production to approximately
550,000 tonnes
Work is advancing on track for the updated life-of-mine integrated development
plan to be completed by end of Q1 2026. The plan includes a full review of both
the Kakula and Kamoa life-of-mine plans, based on Phase 1, 2 and 3 at a
processing rate of 17 million tonnes per annum, prior to the Phase 4 expansion.
The study will also include an expansion scenario for Phase 4, intended to
increasing processing capacity by 6.5 Mt per annum by constructing a duplicate
of the Phase 3 concentrator.
Production rates are expected to steadily improve as the Kakula Mine recovery
plan is completed, and annualized copper production expected to return to
approximately 550,000 tonnes over the medium and long term.
Kakula Mine Stage 2 dewatering progressing well at over 60%
complete; high-capacity submersible pumps lowered to continue
dewatering efforts
As announced on September 18, 2025, Stage 2 dewatering activities have been
underway since early September, when two pairs of high-capacity submersible
pumps, with a combined capacity of 2,600 litres per second were installed and
commissioned in under six weeks.
Dewatering activities successfully split the flooded areas into discrete western
and eastern zones during the month of November. Dewatering from the western
side of the mine is 70% complete (measured by total volume of water) as at the
start of December and is expected to be fully completed by the end of January by
Stage 3 (steady-state) dewatering.
Stage 3 dewatering consists of re-commissioning the existing, water-damaged
underground horizontal pump stations which are used during steady-state
operations. The rehabilitation work consists of fitting new pump motors,
substations and electrical cabling. All the required equipment is on site, and the
installation work will take place once access to the horizontal pump stations
becomes available. To date, approximately 800 litres per second of Stage 3
pumping capacity has been re-established. Access to an additional 800 litres per
second of pumping capacity is expected by year end, with access to a further 600
litres per second of pumping capacity expected in January 2026.
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On the eastern side of the mine, Stage 2 dewatering is 60% complete. The first
pair of pumps (Pumps 3 and 4) ran dry during the last week of November, as
planned, with the water level declining by a total of 38 metres, or approximately
84% from the initial water level measurement. Following an underground survey,
Pumps 3 and 4 were repositioned lower by up to 19 metres to enable pumping to
continue for a further 3 weeks.
The second pair of pumps (Pumps 1 and 2), which were installed in a deeper
section of the mine, as shown in Figure 2, have reduced the water level by 45
metres, or approximately 48% from the initial measurement. Pumps 1 and 2 are
expected to continue operating into Q1 2026, as Stage 3 dewatering is ramped up.
Over 2,200 megalitres of water lie below the level of the Stage 2 dewatering
pumps, which will be pumped out gradually using the Stage 3 dewatering
infrastructure. This existing flooded mine area is not on the critical path for
ramping up mining rates on the eastern side of the Kakula Mine, which will be
focused on a new mining area on the east beyond a barrier pillar. Future mining
will be de-risked by dewatering in advance of the working face, using similar
technology to the Stage 2 dewatering system.
Figure 2. A schematic of the underground water levels at the Kakula Mine
as at December 1, 2025, overlaid with the underground pumping
infrastructure.
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Looking south over the two surface-mounted pump stations that provide
the Stage 2 dewatering. Combined, both pumps operate at 2,600 litres per
second.
2026 & 2027 COPPER PRODUCTION GUIDANCE
Guidance figures are on a 100% project basis.
Kamoa-Kakula’s 2026 and 2027 production guidance is based on several
assumptions and estimates. It involves estimates of known and unknown risks,
uncertainties, and other factors that may cause the actual results to differ
materially.
The 2025 production guidance was revised on June 11, 2025 following the
seismic activity as reported on May 20, 2025, and associated interruptions in
mining operations at the Kakula Mine. The Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex
produced 316,395 tonnes of copper in concentrate for the nine months ended
Kamoa-Kakula Production Guidance
2026 contained copper (tonnes) 380,000 – 420,000
2027 contained copper (tonnes) 500,000 – 540,000
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September 30, 2025 and is on track to meet revised full-year guidance of 370,000
to 420,000 tonnes of copper.
Although mining on the western side of the Kakula Mine has restarted, risk
factors remain, including the integrity of underground infrastructure once
dewatering is complete, the ability to ramp up underground operations, the ability
to complete dewatering activities, and the time required to access the new mining
areas. The updated 2026 and 2027 production guidance ranges for Kamoa-Kakula
are based on an assessment of these factors that management believes are
reasonable at this time, given all available information.
Kamoa-Kakula’s adjusted 2025 and 2026 capital expenditure guidance, as
announced on October 29, 2025 remains unchanged. Cash cost (C1) guidance for
2026 will be provided with the 2025 full-year financial results in February 2026.
Qualified Persons
Disclosures of a scientific or technical nature at the Kamoa-Kakula Copper
Complex in this news release have been reviewed and approved by Steve Amos,
who is considered, by virtue of his education, experience, and professional
association, a Qualified Person under the terms of NI 43-101. Mr. Amos is not
considered independent under NI 43-101 as he is Ivanhoe Mines’ Executive Vice
President, Projects. Mr. Amos has verified the technical data disclosed in this
news release.
Ivanhoe has prepared an independent, NI 43-101-compliant technical report for
the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex, which is available on the company’s website
and under the company’s SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca:
• Kamoa-Kakula Integrated Development Plan 2023 Technical Report dated
March 6, 2023, prepared by OreWin Pty Ltd.; China Nerin Engineering Co.
Ltd.; DRA Global; Epoch Resources; Golder Associates Africa; Metso
Outotec Oyj; Paterson and Cooke; SRK Consulting Ltd.; and The MSA
Group.
The technical report includes relevant information regarding the assumptions,
parameters, and methods of the mineral resource estimates on the Kamoa-Kakula
Copper Complex cited in this news release, as well as information regarding data
verification, exploration procedures and other matters relevant to the scientific
and technical disclosure contained in this news release.
About Ivanhoe Mines
Ivanhoe Mines is a Canadian mining company focused on advancing its three
principal operations in Southern Africa; the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in