Kamoa-Kakula Copper Project mines and stockpiles 269,000 tonnes of ore from the Kakula and Kansoko mines in December, at an average grade of 5.36% copper, including 55,000 tonnes grading 8.75% copper from the high-grade centre of the Kakula Mine
January 5, 2021
Kamoa-Kakula Copper Project mines and stockpiles 269,000 tonnes of
ore from the Kakula and Kansoko mines in December, at an average
grade of 5.36% copper, including 55,000 tonnes grading 8.75% copper
from the high-grade centre of the Kakula Mine
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Pre-production ore stockpiles now hold 1.52 million tonnes grading
4.03% copper, containing more than 61,000 tonnes of copper
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Record underground development of 2,792 metres completed in
December; more than 29.8 kilometres now complete – 10.5 kilometres
ahead of plan
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Remarkable thickness of the high-grade copper ore in the centre of
the Kakula Mine has allowed the expansion of development drifts in
this area to 10 metres high by 7.5 metres wide (75 square metres)
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Overall progress of Kamoa-Kakula’s first phase, 3.8-Mtpa mining and
milling operation now approximately 68% complete; first copper
concentrate production continues to 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 269,000 tonnes of ore grading 5.36%
copper in December from the Kakula and Kansoko mines. The tonnage was 7.6% higher
than November, while the copper grade was 10.5% higher.
The project’s pre-production surface stockpiles now contain approximately 1.52 million
tonnes of high-grade and medium-grade ore at an estimated blended grade of 4.03%
copper. Contained copper in the stockpiles increased by approximately 14,400 tonnes
in December – a 30.9% increase over November’s production reflecting the increased
mining in the ultra-high-grade centre of the Kakula Deposit – to a cumulative total of
more than 61,000 tonnes (the current copper price is approximately US$7,900 a tonne).
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The project 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.
Mr. Friedland and Mr. Sun also noted that the project team established another new
monthly record for underground mine development in December with a total of 2,792
metres of advancement – 620 metres more than the previous monthly high achieved in
October 2020. Another important development milestone was achieved in late
December with the second holing of Kakula’s northern and southern access tunnels,
establishing additional access to mine Kakula’s high-grade ore in the centre of the
orebody grading +8% copper.
“After more than 26 years of continuous efforts, Ivanhoe Mines and its joint-venture
partners are less than six months away from initial production at Kamoa-Kakula – the
first world-scale copper discovery on the African continent in generations. This year’s
transformation marks the beginning of the next chapter of our journey that began in
1994 and has involved thousands of dedicated and talented people,” said Mr. Friedland.
“Underground development at the Kakula Mine is well ahead of schedule and
construction of the first phase processing plant is on schedule to produce exceptionally
high-grade and clean copper concentrates beginning this July. The performance of
Kamoa Copper’s multinational management team in successfully navigating the
profound logistical challenges posed by the global COVID-19 pandemic has been
absolutely outstanding.”
“Our expectations are for continued rising copper prices through 2021 and beyond; as
such, the timing of Kamoa Copper’s first production is fortuitous given that the project
is scheduled to have ore stockpiles containing more than 125,000 tonnes of contained
copper available for processing by July 1st. A rising copper price directly impacts the
realizable value of the contained copper in the stockpiles, the cost of which is
capitalized,” Mr. Friedland added.
December’s record-setting advancement brings total underground development to
approximately 29.8 kilometres – approximately 10.5 kilometres ahead of schedule. The
monthly underground development in December was comprised of 2,521 metres at the
Kakula Mine and 271 metres at the Kansoko Mine.
Mark Farren, Kamoa Copper’s CEO, commented: “A terrific performance by our mining
teams in December and an exceptional way to end 2020. To achieve a record-setting
month in the midst of the holiday season is a testament to the commitment and
professionalism of our people. The start of 2021 brings with it a sense of excitement and
opportunity as we begin to shift our focus from mine development to production.”
“Mining crews recently entered a remarkably thick zone of high-grade ore grading +8%
copper in the centre of the Kakula Mine, which has allowed us to enlarge the
development drifts in this area to 10 metres high by 7.5 metres wide (75 square metres),
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and the increase in ore tonnes per metre of development has been substantial,” Mr.
Farren added.
Kakula’s combined medium-grade and high-grade ore mined in December was
approximately 245,000 tonnes at an average grade of 5.64% copper, including
approximately 55,000 tonnes grading 8.75% 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 the high-grade centre of the orebody. Opening up of the
mining footprint for these high grade, drift-and-fill mining areas entails, by necessity,
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 December was
approximately 24,000 tonnes at an average grade of 2.49% copper. Priorities at Kansoko
during December were to develop and support major ventilation airways towards the
mine’s No. 1 ventilation shaft. 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.
One of Kakula’s high-performing mining crews. Top row (left to right): Mike
Ilunga, Aliday Mujinga, Elize Nkulu, Ebrahim Tshikala, Liu Huang and Jean Paul
Ndayi. Bottom row: Eric Kaut, Seriphin Lupitshi, Lazare Ilunga and Didier Kaona.
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Miners operating a jumbo drill at the face of a high-grade development drift near
the centre of the Kakula Mine. Due to the thickness of the copper ore in this area,
the drifts are 10 metres high by 7.5 metres wide (32.8 feet high by 24.6 feet wide),
or 75 square metres. For perspective, the height of the drift is close to the height
of a standard telephone pole. The average grade of ore in this area is 8.75%
copper and the tonnage per blast is approximately 1,000 tonnes, more than
double the tonnage per blast in a normal drift.
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.
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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%).
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.
December’s ore production was 7.6% higher than November, with monthly
copper grade increasing from 4.85% to 5.36%; pre-production surface ore
stockpiles now total approximately 1.52 million tonnes grading 4.03%
copper
In December, mining crews at Kakula and Kansoko mined and transported to surface
stockpiles approximately 269,000 tonnes of ore grading 5.36% copper. This brings the
project’s total pre-production high- and medium-grade ore stockpiles to approximately
1.52 million tonnes at an estimated blended grade of 4.03% copper. An additional
622,000 tonnes of low-grade development ore also has been stockpiled on surface.
December’s ore production was approximately 7.6% higher than the 250,000 tonnes
grading 4.85% copper mined in November, and approximately 38% higher than the
194,000 tonnes grading 4.01% mined in October.
Chart 1: Cumulative tonnes and grade of pre-production ore stockpiles at the
Kakula and Kansoko mines from May 2020 to December 2020.
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Chart 2: Growth in contained copper in pre-production ore stockpiles at the
Kakula and Kansoko mines from May 2020 to December 2020.
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 900,000 tonnes grading an estimated 4.26% copper.
Additional pre-production ore stockpiles are located at the Kakula southern decline
(approximately 188,000 tonnes of high-grade ore grading 5.73% copper and 250,000
tonnes of medium-grade ore grading 2.80% copper) and the Kansoko decline
(approximately 3,000 tonnes of high-grade ore grading 6.48% copper and 174,000
tonnes of medium-grade ore grading 2.72% copper).
Kakula’s main pre-production stockpiles at the northern declines. The blended
stockpiles currently contain approximately 900,000 tonnes grading 4.26% copper.
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Kakula southern decline ore stockpiles containing approximately 188,000 tonnes
of high-grade ore grading 5.73% copper, and 250,000 tonnes of medium-grade
ore grading 2.80% copper.
Kansoko decline ore stockpiles containing 177,000 tonnes grading 2.77% copper,
including 3,000 tonnes of high-grade ore grading 6.48% copper.