Kamoa-Kakula Copper Project mines a record 250,000 tonnes of development ore grading 4.85% copper in November, accelerating both grade and tonnage of copper ore added to the project’s surface stockpiles
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December 2, 2020
Kamoa-Kakula Copper Project mines a record 250,000 tonnes of
development ore grading 4.85% copper in November, accelerating
both grade and tonnage of copper ore added to the project’s surface
stockpiles
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Pre-production ore stockpiles now hold 1.25 million tonnes grading
3.75% copper, containing more than 46,700 tonnes of copper
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Underground development totalling 2,163 metres completed in
November; more than 26.8 kilometres now complete – 9.0 kilometres
ahead of plan
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Access to Kakula's +8% copper ore in the centre of deposit
established with the connection of northern and southern main
access tunnels in early November
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In November, Kakula’s central connection development produced
93,000 tonnes grading 4.95% copper from the southern decline,
including 41,000 tonnes of high-grade ore grading 7.82% copper, and
124,000 tonnes grading 5.03% copper from the northern decline
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Overall progress of Kamoa-Kakula’s first phase, 3.8 Mtpa mining and
milling operation now approximately 63% complete, with first copper
concentrate production scheduled 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) produced a combined 250,000 tonnes of ore grading 4.85%
copper in November from the Kakula and Kansoko mines. The tonnage was 29% higher
than achieved in October, while the monthly copper grade increased from 4.01% to
4.85%.
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The project’s pre-production surface stockpiles now contain approximately 1.25 million
tonnes of high-grade and medium-grade ore at an estimated grade of 3.75% copper.
Contained copper in the stockpiles increased by approximately 12,100 tonnes in
November – a 55% increase over October’s production – to a cumulative total of more
than 46,700 tonnes (the current copper price is approximately US$7,670 a tonne). The
project is on track to have approximately three million tonnes of high-grade and
medium-grade ore stockpiled on surface, containing more than 125,000 tonnes of
copper, prior to the planned start of production in July 2021.
Mr. Friedland and Mr. Sun also noted that underground mine development totalled 2,163
metres in November – only 10 metres shy of establishing another new monthly record.
A key milestone was achieved in early November with the joining of Kakula’s main
northern and southern access tunnels, establishing access to begin mining Kakula’s
high-grade ore in the centre of the orebody grading approximately +8% copper (see
figures 1, 2 and 3). The holing event was advanced only from one end for the last few
days as a standard safety precaution, which had a minor effect on the metres achieved.
The holing has allowed Kakula’s mining crews to enlarge the development drifts in the
centre of the deposit to 7-metres wide by 7-metres high (approximately 23-feet wide by
23-feet high) to take advantage of the excellent copper grades across a thick ore zone –
providing a substantial increase in tonnes per metre of development.
November’s development brings total underground development to more than 26.8
kilometres – approximately 9.0 kilometres ahead of schedule. The monthly total of 2,163
metres of underground development in November was comprised of 1,840 metres at the
Kakula Mine and 323 metres at the Kansoko Mine, which is located at the Kamoa
Deposit – approximately 10 kilometres north of the Kakula Mine.
Mark Farren, Kamoa Copper’s CEO, commented: “November was a great month for
mine development. Not only did we join the Kakula’s main access tunnels that now
provides a transportation and ventilation connection between the northern and
southern declines – a distance of approximately four kilometres, we also achieved
record ore production at significantly better copper grades. We expect this production
trend to continue as additional mining crews begin working in the centre of the high-
grade Kakula orebody. We also saw a sharp increase in copper grades at the Kansoko
Mine in November, resulting from ongoing exposure of a rapidly thickening layer of
copper-rich siltstone.”
“This month we expect to achieve three key construction milestones – energizing the
newly installed 220-kilovolt power line feeding Kamoa-Kakula with hydro-generated
electricity from the national grid; synchronization of the first of six turbines at the
refurbished Mwadingusha hydropower plant onto the national grid; and commissioning
the main surface rock-handling, by-pass conveyor system that will enable the delivery
of ore from the Kakula Mine directly to the concentrator plant stockpiles,” Mr. Farren
added.
Underground mining crews at Kakula are focused on developing the high grade, drift-
and-fill mining blocks in the centre of the orebody. Opening up of the mining footprint
for these high grade, drift-and-fill mining areas entails, by necessity, development work
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in areas of low-, medium- and high-grade ore, and is designed to coincide with the start-
up of the processing plant next year. This will allow crews to deliver significant tonnage
of high-grade ore directly from Kakula’s underground workings to the processing plant.
While most of the underground development at the Kansoko Mine is in medium-grade
ore, in late November mining crews entered the deposit’s initial high-grade ore zone,
with 2,100 tonnes of high-grade ore grading 6.66% copper mined by month’s end.
Kansoko’s combined medium-grade and high-grade ore mined in November was
approximately 33,000 tonnes at an average grade of 3.87% copper. Ongoing exposure of
a rapidly thickening siltstone is the reason for a sharp increase in copper grades at
Kansoko in November. Siltstone is a rock type with a strong influence on copper
mineralization at Kamoa-Kakula.
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.
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
over the first five years of operation. 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.
An 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.
Watch a short, fly-over video showcasing the ongoing construction of the Kakula
Mine and Phase 1, 3.8 Mtpa concentrator plant:
https://vimeo.com/485580022/276d6411df
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Left to right: Magloire Kashiba, Production Manager; Jan Strydom, Managerial
Leader: Operations; Marna Cloete, Ivanhoe Mines President and CFO; and
Pontien Kalala – Section Manager, celebrate the joining of Kakula’s main access
tunnels in early November that now provides a transportation and ventilation
connection between the northern and southern declines.
In November, the Kamoa-Kakula’s surface construction team achieved five
million hours worked without incurring a lost time accident.
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Drilling the face of a 7-metre-wide by 7-metre-high development drift in the high-
grade centre of the Kakula Deposit.
November’s ore production 29% higher than October, with monthly copper
grade increasing from 4.01% to 4.85%; pre-production surface ore
stockpiles now total approximately 1.25 million tonnes grading 3.75%
copper
In November, mining crews at the Kakula and Kansoko mines mined and transported to
surface approximately 250,000 tonnes of ore grading 4.85% copper. This brings the
project’s total pre-production high- and medium-grade ore stockpiles to approximately
1.25 million tonnes at an estimated grade of 3.75% copper. An additional 622,000 tonnes
of low-grade development ore also has been stockpiled on surface.
November’s ore production is approximately 29% higher than the 194,000 tonnes
grading 3.47% copper mined in October, and approximately 89% higher than the 132,000
tonnes grading 3.31% mined in September. The project is well positioned for continued
acceleration in the tonnage, as well as an increase in the grade, of ore added to the
surface stockpiles as more mining crews commence mining in the higher-grade areas
of the Kakula and Kansoko mines.
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Chart 1: Cumulative tonnes and grade of pre-production ore stockpiles at the
Kakula and Kansoko mines from May 2020 to November 2020.
Chart 2: Growth in contained copper in pre-production ore stockpiles at the
Kakula and Kansoko mines from May 2020 to November 2020.
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Chart 3: Projected growth in contained copper in the pre-production stockpiles at
the Kakula and Kansoko mines up to the planned start of Phase 1 production in
July 2021. Dotted line are projections based on the 2020 pre-feasibility study.
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 763,000 tonnes grading an estimated 3.93% copper.
Additional, pre-production ore stockpiles are located at the Kakula southern decline
(approximately 107,000 tonnes of high-grade ore grading 6.11% copper and 224,000
tonnes of medium-grade ore grading 2.64% copper) and the Kansoko decline
(approximately 2,100 tonnes of high-grade ore grading 6.66% copper and 151,000
tonnes of medium-grade ore grading 2.82% copper).
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Kakula’s main pre-production stockpiles at the northern declines. The blended
stockpiles currently contain approximately 763,000 tonnes grading 3.93% copper.