Ivanhoe Mines reports 112,009 tonnes of copper produced by Kamoa-Kakula in Q2 2025
July 8, 2025
Ivanhoe Mines reports 112,009 tonnes of copper produced by
Kamoa-Kakula in Q2 2025
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Stage 1 dewatering of the Kakula Mine progressing as planned;
Stage 2 dewatering on schedule to commence next month
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Kamoa-Kakula’s Phase 1 and 2 concentrators now operating at
approx. 85% of design capacity, including 45% ore feed from
Kakula western side; Phase 3 concentrator operating 30%
above design capacity
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Construction of Kamoa-Kakula’s Project 95 is approximately
50% complete and on schedule for completion in Q1 2026
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Kipushi concentrator milled a record 153,342 tonnes of ore in
Q2 2025, producing near-record 41,788 tonnes of zinc
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Platreef on schedule for first production in Q4 2025
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Ivanhoe Mines to issue Q2 2025 financial results after market
close on July 30, host conference call for investors on July 31
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – Ivanhoe Mines’ (TSX: IVN; OTCQX: IVPAF)
Executive Co-Chair Robert Friedland, and President and Chief Executive Officer
Marna Cloete announced today the company’s second quarter production results
and an update on operational and project activities.
During the second quarter, Kamoa-Kakula’s Phase 1, 2, and 3 concentrators
milled a total 3.62 million tonnes of ore, producing 112,009 tonnes of copper,
representing an 11% year-on-year increase.
As previously guided, “Stage One” dewatering activities have been in place and
operating to plan as of June 2, 2025. Water levels on the eastern side of the
Kakula Mine have decreased modestly ahead of “Stage Two” dewatering
activities from next month. The five, procured high-capacity, submersible “Stage
Two” dewatering pumps are currently undergoing factory assembly in China and
are expected to be air-freighted to site within the coming weeks.
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In early June, mining on the western side of the Kakula mine restarted. By mid-
June, the mining rate had ramped up to 300,000 tonnes per month (3.6 million
tonnes on an annualized basis), with grades ranging from 3% to 4% copper.
As a result, since mid-June, the combined processing rate of the Phase 1 and 2
concentrators ramped up to approximately 670,000 tonnes per month (8 million
tonnes per annum on an annualized basis).
Underground development of a new mining area, located on the far eastern side
of the Kakula Mine, has recently commenced. The development of the two new
access drives will be conducted from existing underground infrastructure.
Founder and Co-Chairman Robert Friedland commented:
“We commend the hard work and dedication of our management team,
mining and engineering crews at Kamoa-Kakula, who continue to work
tirelessly to turn around operations at Kakula.
"Operational recovery plans are well underway at Kamoa-Kakula following
the decisive and proactive actions undertaken by management in response
to the seismic activity first announced on May 20. Safety of our employees
and contractors remains our top priority at Kamoa-Kakula ... and we are now
systematically and judiciously increasing development activities to increase
the supply of high-grade, fresh ore to the Phase 1 and Phase 2
concentrators from mining areas on the western side of the Kakula ore
body. We expect to return to mining areas grading approximately 5% copper
on the western side of Kakula towards the end of the year, which will drive a
further improvement in operating results and efficiency.
"Meanwhile, we have commenced development towards a new high-grade
mining area on the far eastern side of Kakula, which is expected to provide
additional high-grade ore by Q2 2026. We also expect to transport excess
ore from the Kamoa and Kansoko mines, which continue to outperform on
all metrics, to further augment feed of fresh material to the Phase 1 and
Phase 2 concentrators as soon as possible.
"Dewatering efforts of the Kakula Mine are proceeding to plan, which will
provide us access to assess additional high-grade ore from the affected
workings that can be safely mined to feed the Phase 1 and Phase 2
concentrators.
"We also commend our management team at Kipushi for a strong quarterly
operating performance. Kipushi is now well on track as one of the world's largest,
highest-grade, and greenest major zinc mines. Lastly, but certainly not least, we
are extremely excited for first production at Platreef later this year... which will set
the stage for a phased expansion that is set to position the operation as the
world's largest, and lowest-cost producer of platinum-group metals, nickel,
copper, and gold. Given the current rally in platinum-group metals prices and the
rising interest in these metals, we firmly believe Platreef is positioned to emerge
at the right moment in the cycle to deliver exceptional returns for our
shareholders."
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The heat-up of Kamoa-Kakula’s state-of-the-art, 500,000-tonne-per-annum
direct-to-blister copper smelter is expected to start in September 2025, with
the first production of 99.7%-pure copper anodes anticipated in October
2025.
Summary of quarterly production data from Kamoa-Kakula
Q2 2024 Q3 2024 Q4 2024 Q1 2025 Q2 2025
Phase 1 & 2
Ore tonnes milled (000’s tonnes) 2,288 2,215 2,329 2,211 1,991*
Feed grade of ore processed (% copper) 5.04% 4.86% 5.08% 5.01% 4.12%*
Copper recovery (%) 87.0% 86.6% 87.0% 88.3% 85.4%*
Copper in concentrate produced (tonnes) 99,706 94,214 102,042 97,575 71,401*
Phase 3
Ore tonnes milled (000’s tonnes) 93 1,050 1,326 1,512 1,631
Feed grade of ore processed (% copper) 1.67% 2.64% 2.82% 2.76% 2.92%
Copper recovery (%) 83.3% 79.9% 85.1% 85.1% 85.5%
Copper in concentrate produced (tonnes) 1,106 22,099 31,777 35,545 40,608
Combined Phase 1, 2, and 3
Ore tonnes milled (000’s tonnes) 2,381 3,266 3,655 3,723 3,622
Feed grade of ore processed (% copper) 4.91% 4.14% 4.26% 4.10% 3.58%
Copper recovery (%) 86.9% 85.3% 86.6% 87.4% 85.4%
Copper in concentrate produced (tonnes) 100,812 116,313 133,819 133,120 112,009
Data in red denotes a quarterly record
*Phase 1 & 2 production in the second quarter was impacted by seismic activity at the Kakula
Mine as announced on May 20, 2025.
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Phase 1 and 2 concentrators are operating at approximately 85%
capacity, with approximately 45% of feed coming from the western
side of the Kakula Mine
During the second quarter, the Phase 1, 2, and 3 concentrators milled 3.62 million
tonnes of ore, producing 112,009 tonnes of copper, representing an 11% year-on-
year increase. Copper production for the first half of 2025 totaled 245,127 tonnes.
In June, Kamoa-Kakula’s Phase 1, 2, and 3 concentrators produced a total of
28,147 tonnes of copper. During the month, approximately 15,000 tonnes of
copper were produced by the Phase 1 and 2 concentrators, at an average grade
of 3.3% copper and an average recovery rate of 79%. The lower-than-average
recovery rate is due to lower recoveries achieved from processing lower-grade
ore from surface stockpiles.
The Phase 1 and 2 concentrators commenced the processing of ore from the
western side of the Kakula Mine on June 8, 2025. Since mid-June, the Phase 1
and 2 concentrators ramped up to a combined processing rate of approximately
670,000 tonnes per month, or 8 million tonnes per annum on an annualized basis.
It is expected that the Phase 1 and 2 concentrators will continue to process ore at
this rate for the remainder of 2025, with a target of approximately 50% of ore feed
coming from surface stockpiles and 50% from the western side of the Kakula
Mine. The processing of surface stockpiles is expected to continue until they are
depleted in Q1 2026.
As announced on June 11, 2025, mining operations on the western side of the
Kakula Mine restarted on June 7, 2025. By mid-June, the mining rate had ramped
up to 300,000 tonnes per month (3.6 million tonnes on an annualized basis). As
previously guided, mining in the western side of the Kakula Mine will initially
focus on higher-elevation areas in the north and southwest, as shown in Figure 1,
where copper grades range between 3% and 4%. Mining of these areas will
continue into the fourth quarter, until Stage Two dewatering of the eastern side of
the Kakula Mine is well advanced. From late 2025, mining crews plan to advance
deeper into the western side of the Kakula Mine, where copper grades are
expected to increase to approximately 5%.
The Phase 3 concentrator milled a record 1,631 tonnes of ore in the second
quarter, producing a record 40,608 tonnes of copper. The milling record is
equivalent to an annualized rate of 6.5 million tonnes, which is 30% higher than
the Phase 3 concentrator’s design capacity of 5.0 million tonnes per annum. The
average quarterly feed grade for the Phase 3 concentrator was a record 2.92%
copper. For the remainder of 2025, it is expected that the feed grade into the
Phase 3 concentrator will average approximately 2.5% copper, as the cut-off
grade is lowered to achieve a greater mining rate. Currently, all ore mined at the
Kamoa and Kansoko mines is processed by the Phase 3 concentrator.
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During the second half of 2025, the combined mining rate from the Kamoa and
Kansoko mines will increase, with up to 100,000 tonnes per month of this ore fed
into the Phase 1 and 2 concentrators, replacing a portion of the stockpile feed.
Stage One dewatering underway as planned; delivery of Stage Two
dewatering pumps expected from next month
As previously guided, “Stage One” dewatering activities have been in place and
operating to plan as of June 2, 2025. This has enabled the water levels on the
eastern side of the Kakula Mine to decrease modestly, ahead of “Stage Two”
dewatering activities which are expected to commence in August. In the
meantime, the declining water levels have enabled mining crews to access
additional areas and commence selective rehabilitation.
“Stage Two” dewatering involves the installation of high-capacity, submersible
pumps and new permanent infrastructure to fully dewater the entire Kakula Mine
from surface. Kamoa Copper has ordered five high-capacity pumps, each rated at
650 litres per second, from Hefei Hengda Jianghai Pump Co., Ltd. of Anhui
Province, China. The pumps are currently undergoing factory assembly and are
expected to be air freighted in August.
Looking north with the Phase 1 and 2 concentrators in the background,
cranes and steel piping are mobilized to one of the two existing vertical
shaft sites that will be used to dewater the eastern side of the Kakula Mine.
Concurrently, site preparation activities are advancing well. The high-capacity,
submersible pumps will be installed in pairs down two adjacent shafts that
access the deepest sections of the eastern side of the Kakula Mine, as shown in
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Figure 1. The remaining pump will be kept in reserve. The pumps will be
connected to piping and lowered down the existing shafts from the surface.
Discharged water from the submersible pumps will be fed into existing surface
water channels that feed into on-site settling and treatment ponds.
The total capital cost of the Stage One and Stage Two dewatering activities,
including the purchase, transport, and installation of the high-capacity,
submersible dewatering pumps, is expected to be up to $70 million, including
contingency.
Figure 1. An illustration of the Kakula Mine’s existing underground infrastructure
as of June 2025, showing the depth profile of the western and eastern sections
and existing (Stage One) and new (Stage Two) vertical pumping locations.
Development to the new mining area on the far eastern side of the
Kakula Mine has commenced
A new mining area, located on the far eastern side of the Kakula Mine, as
indicated by the red arrows in Figure 2, will be initially accessed via two new
access drives. The mining crews commenced construction of the access drives
in the past week.
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Development of the new mining area is expected to be initially conducted in
waste before entering ore from early 2026. Mining of the area is expected to
commence in Q2 2026.
The new access drives will be developed simultaneously, advancing east from
existing underground infrastructure. The new mining area will not require new
mine access from the surface. The area will be accessed from existing
underground infrastructure that is not affected by the ongoing dewatering
activities.
Figure 2. An illustration of the Kakula Mine’s existing underground infrastructure,
showing the grade profile and the location of the two access drives (red arrows)
to the new eastern mining area.
Notes: Existing underground development as at June 2025. Illustration is based on the 2023 Kamoa-
Kakula IDP showing the estimated average grade of each vertical stack of blocks above a 2% total
copper cut-off. A minimum 6-metre thickness is applied.
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Smelter heat-up scheduled to start in September; first copper anode
production expected in October
As announced on June 11, 2025, Kamoa-Kakula’s senior management confirmed
that the start-up of the on-site direct-to-blister copper smelter will commence in
early September 2025, with the first production of anode expected in October. The
smelter can operate at a minimum operating capacity of 50%, or approximately
250,000 tonnes of copper on an annualized basis. Kamoa-Kakula’s management
team expects to prioritize the processing of all concentrates produced by the
Phase 1, 2, and 3 concentrators through the on-site smelter, with any excess
concentrate toll-treated at the nearby Lualaba Copper Smelter.
As at June 30, 2025, Kamoa-Kakula’s total on-site, unsold concentrate stockpiles
consisted of 53,600 tonnes of copper, of which approximately 31,500 tonnes are
stored on the smelter site. In preparation for the first feed of concentrate,
approximately four to six weeks after start-up in early September, it is expected
that total on-site, unsold concentrate stockpiles will be approximately 35,000
tonnes of copper in concentrate.
First copper anode production from Kamoa-Kakula’s state-of-the-art, on-
site copper smelter is expected in October.