Kamoa-Kakula Copper mines 300,000 tonnes of ore in January grading 5.45% copper, including 82,000 tonnes grading 8.80% copper from the high-grade centre of the Kakula Mine
February 1, 2021
Kamoa-Kakula Copper mines 300,000 tonnes of ore in January
grading 5.45% copper, including 82,000 tonnes grading 8.80% copper
from the high-grade centre of the Kakula Mine
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Pre-production ore stockpiles now hold 1.82 million tonnes grading
4.23% copper, containing more than 76,000 tonnes of copper
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Fresh underground mining record achieved with 2,869 metres
completed in January; more than 32.7 kilometres now complete – 11.6
kilometres ahead of plan
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Overall progress of Kamoa-Kakula’s first phase, 3.8-Mtpa mining and
milling operation now approximately 71% complete; first copper
concentrate production remains on track for July 2021
KOLWEZI, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO – Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN; OTCQX:
IVPAF) Co-Chairs Robert Friedland and Yufeng “Miles” Sun are pleased to announce
that underground development at the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Project in the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC) mined and stockpiled 300,000 tonnes of ore grading 5.45%
copper from the Kakula and Kansoko mines in January. The tonnage was 11.5% higher
than December, while the copper grade was 1.6% higher.
The 300,000 tonnes mined in January included 231,000 tonnes at an average grade of
6.20% copper, including 82,000 tonnes grading 8.80% copper from the high-grade
centre of the Kakula Mine.
The project’s pre-production surface stockpiles now contain approximately 1.82 million
tonnes of high-grade and medium-grade ore at an estimated blended grade of 4.23%
copper. Contained copper in the stockpiles increased by approximately 16,000 tonnes
in January – a 25.9% increase over December’s production reflecting increased mining
activity in the ultra-high-grade centre of the Kakula Deposit – to a cumulative total of
more than 76,000 tonnes (the current copper price is approximately US$7,940 a tonne).
Kamoa-Kakula is on track to have approximately three million tonnes of high-grade and
medium-grade ore stockpiled on surface, holding more than 125,000 tonnes of
contained copper, prior to the planned start of processing in July 2021.
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“In the mining business, grade is king,” said Mr. Friedland. “And the remarkable grade
of the ore coming from Kakula is unprecedented for a major mechanized copper mine of
this scale. We are just five months away from scheduled first production, which will
mark the next step in the evolution of Ivanhoe Mines into a leading, diversified mining
company with a development and exploration portfolio of high-value, critical green
metals.”
Mr. Friedland and Mr. Sun also congratulated the project team for establishing yet
another new monthly record for underground mine development in January with a total
of 2,869 metres of advancement.
“A very strong operational and safety performance by our mining teams in January, and
overall a terrific start to 2021,” said Mr. Friedland. “We are immensely proud of the more
than 6,000 colleagues on site who are delivering this exceptional project on time and on
budget. As we rapidly approach initial production, the project is busy recruiting and
training the team that will operate the brand new concentrator plant, creating hundreds
of additional permanent, well-paying jobs for local Congolese women and men.”
Underground mine development remains well ahead of schedule, providing
the confidence to push forward with Kamoa-Kakula’s Phase 2 construction
January’s record-setting advancement brings total underground development to
approximately 32.7 kilometres – around 11.6 kilometres ahead of schedule. The monthly
underground development in January was comprised of 2,544 metres at the Kakula
Mine and 325 metres at the Kansoko Mine.
Drift-and-fill stoping operations recently commenced at the Kakula Mine, with more than
66% of January’s ore production coming from stoping operations and the remaining
coming from mine development activities. Stoping is a highly-productive mining
method of extracting underground ore, leaving behind an open space known as a stope.
Mark Farren, Kamoa Copper’s CEO, commented: “The achievement of 300,000 tonnes
mined in January is significant as Kamoa-Kakula is fast approaching the mining rate
needed to sustain the project’s Phase 1 concentrator plant.”
“It will be important to balance mining volumes and surface stockpiles to meet the
requirements of both the Phase 1 and Phase 2 concentrators. We now have nearly two
million tonnes of medium- and high-grade ore on surface stockpiles, which should grow
to approximately three million tonnes ahead of the scheduled start-up of the
concentrator in July, significantly minimizing the ramp-up risk as well as streamlining
the commissioning phase,” he continued.
“The large surface ore stockpiles will allow Kamoa-Kakula to maximize throughput once
the Phase 1 concentrator is commissioned. Based on our projected mining rates over
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the next year and a half, we are confident that we also will have more than sufficient
stockpiles ahead of the Phase 2 concentrator commissioning,” Mr. Farren added.
Kakula’s combined medium-grade and high-grade ore mined in January was
approximately 274,000 tonnes at an average grade of 5.56% copper, including 82,000
tonnes grading 8.80% copper from the +8% copper zone in the centre of the orebody.
Mining crews at Kakula are primarily focused on developing the drift-and-fill mining
blocks in this high-grade centre. Opening up of the mining footprint for these high
grade, drift-and-fill mining areas requires development work in areas of low-, medium-
and high-grade ore, and is designed to coincide with the start-up of the processing
plant in July. This will allow crews to deliver significant tonnage of high-grade ore
directly from Kakula’s underground workings to the processing plant.
Kansoko’s combined medium-grade and high-grade ore mined in January was
approximately 26,000 tonnes at an average grade of 4.31% copper. Kansoko’s ore grade
increased by 73% in January, compared to December. Kansoko is being developed by
training crews and will be a supplemental source of ore for Phase 2 of the project’s
development when the Kakula concentrator processing capacity doubles to 7.6 million
tonnes per annum (Mtpa) − currently planned to be commissioned in Q3 2022.
Miners drilling a 10-metre-high by 7.5-metre-wide drift near the centre of the
Kakula Mine. The average grade of ore mined in this area is 8.80% copper.
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David Nkulu, Safety Officer, conducting a mine safety drill at the Kansoko Mine’s
underground refuge centre.
Phase 1 copper production from the Kakula Mine is scheduled to begin in July 2021.
Kakula is projected to be the world’s highest-grade major copper mine, with an initial
mining rate of 3.8 Mtpa at an estimated average feed grade of more than 6.0% copper at
first, ramping up to 7.6 Mtpa in Q3 2020. Phases 1 and 2 combined are forecast to
produce approximately 400,000 tonnes of copper per year. Based on independent
benchmarking, 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.
A 2020 independent audit of Kamoa-Kakula's greenhouse gas intensity metrics
performed by Hatch Ltd. of Mississauga, Canada, confirmed that the project will be
among the world's lowest greenhouse gas emitters per unit of copper produced.
The Kamoa-Kakula Copper Project is a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines (39.6%),
Zijin Mining Group (39.6%), Crystal River Global Limited (0.8%) and the Government of
the Democratic Republic of Congo (20%).
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January’s ore production was 11.5% higher than December, with monthly
copper grade increasing from 5.36% to 5.45%; pre-production surface ore
stockpiles now total approximately 1.82 million tonnes grading 4.23%
copper
Chart 1: Cumulative tonnes and grade of pre-production ore stockpiles at the
Kakula and Kansoko mines – May 2020 to January 2021.
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Chart 2: Growth in contained copper in pre-production ore stockpiles at the
Kakula and Kansoko mines – May 2020 to January 2021.
Chart 3: Projected growth in contained copper in the pre-production stockpiles at
the Kakula and Kansoko mines up to July 2021. Dotted lines denote projections
based on the 2020 pre-feasibility study.
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The ore being mined from the northern portion of the Kakula Mine is transported to
surface via the conveyor system and placed on a blended surface stockpile that now
contains approximately 1.07 million tonnes grading an estimated 4.52% copper.
Additional pre-production ore stockpiles are located at the Kakula southern decline
(approximately 243,000 tonnes of high-grade ore grading 5.85% copper and 303,000
tonnes of medium-grade ore grading 2.79% copper) and the Kansoko decline
(approximately 12,000 tonnes of high-grade ore grading 6.19% copper and 192,000
tonnes of medium-grade ore grading 2.77% copper).
Kakula’s main pre-production stockpiles at the northern declines. The blended
stockpiles currently contain approximately 1.07 million tonnes grading 4.52%
copper.
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Kakula southern decline ore stockpiles containing approximately 243,000 tonnes
of high-grade ore grading 5.85% copper, and 303,000 tonnes of medium-grade
ore grading 2.79% copper.
Kansoko decline ore stockpiles containing 204,000 tonnes grading 2.97% copper,
including 12,000 tonnes of high-grade ore grading 6.19% copper.