Updated independently verified Indicated Mineral Resource again increases the Kamoa Copper Discovery to 256 million tonnes grading 4.15% copper, at a 3% cut-off Combined Kamoa-Kakula Project Indicated Mineral Resource now stands at 423 million tonnes grading 4.68% copper, at a
February 5, 2020
Updated independently verified Indicated Mineral Resource
again increases the Kamoa Copper Discovery to 256 million
tonnes grading 4.15% copper, at a 3% cut-off
Combined Kamoa-Kakula Project Indicated Mineral Resource
now stands at 423 million tonnes grading 4.68% copper, at a
3% cut-off
Combined Kamoa-Kakula Project Indicated Mineral Resource
now stands at 1.4 billion tonnes grading 2.7% copper, at a 1%
cut-off
Initial Indicated Mineral Resource estimate for the Kamoa
North Bonanza Zone includes 1.5 million tonnes grading 10.7%
copper, at a 5% cut-off
Drilling continues to target additional resources in the vicinity
of the ultra-high-grade Bonanza Zone and the Far North Zone
KOLWEZI, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO – Robert Friedland and
Yufeng “Miles” Sun, Co-Chairs of Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN; OTCQX: IVPAF),
announced today the completion of an independently-verified, updated Mineral
Resource estimate for the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Project in the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC).
The Kamoa Deposit ─ originally discovered by Ivanhoe Mines’ geologists in
2008 ─ is one of two very large, near-surface, flat-lying, stratiform copper
deposits discovered to date on the 400-square-kilometre Kamoa-Kakula
mining licence. The other major deposit ─ Kakula ─ is being fast-tracked to
commercial production, with the initial 3.8 million-tonne-per-annum mining
operation scheduled to produce first concentrate in Q3 2021.
As shown in Figure 1 below, the Kamoa Deposit includes the recently-
discovered, ultra-high-grade Kamoa North Bonanza Zone and the Far North
Zone.
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The new Mineral Resource estimate is the culmination of an infill drilling
program designed to better define higher-grade copper zones within the
existing Kamoa Deposit.
At a 1% cut-off, Kamoa’s Indicated Mineral Resources now total 760 million
tonnes grading 2.73% copper, containing 45.8 billion pounds of copper. At the
same 1% cut-off, Kamoa’s Inferred Mineral Resources now total 235 million
tonnes grading 1.70% copper, containing 8.8 billion pounds of copper.
At a 3% cut-off, the new Mineral Resource estimate boosts the Kamoa
Deposit’s Indicated Mineral Resource tonnages by 15% and contained copper
by 15.5%, to a total of 256.8 million tonnes at a grade of 4.15% copper. At the
same 3% cut-off, Kamoa’s Inferred Mineral Resources now total 13 million
tonnes at a grade of 3.51% copper.
“The delineation of Indicated Mineral Resources at the North Bonanza Zone
and the Far North Zone continues the long history of exploration success at
Kamoa-Kakula,” said George Gilchrist, Ivanhoe Mines’ Vice President,
Resources. “We see excellent opportunity to add further shallow, higher-grade
copper resources in the northern portion of the mining licence in the general
vicinity of the Bonanza Zone and the Far North Zone, as well as on our
adjoining wholly-owned Western Foreland exploration licences, which should
allow us to further unlock the exciting potential of this resource area.”
Majority of Kamoa’s additional copper resources hosted in the
ultra-high-grade Bonanza Zone and the Far North Zone
The entire Kamoa Deposit was updated in the new Mineral Resource estimate.
The majority of recent drilling, however, targeted the ultra-high-grade Bonanza
Zone at Kamoa North, and an approximated north-south corridor of elevated
copper grades in the far north of the mining licence area (the Far North Zone).
The new Kamoa Mineral Resource estimate covers approximately 600 metres
of strike length in the deeper western portions of the Bonanza Zone (west of
the West Scarp Fault), and 1,500 metres of strike length in the shallower
eastern portions of the Bonanza Zone, defined by drill sections spaced 50
metres apart on strike in the central section, and 100 metres apart on strike
elsewhere.
At a 1% cut-off, the current, combined Indicated Mineral Resources for the
Kamoa-Kakula Project now totals 1.387 billion tonnes grading 2.74% copper,
containing 83.7 billion pounds of copper. At the same 1% cut-off, Kamoa-
Kakula’s combined Inferred Mineral Resources now total 339 million tonnes
grading 1.68% copper, containing 12.5 billion pounds of copper.
At a higher 3% cut-off, the current, combined Indicated Mineral Resources for
the Kamoa-Kakula Project now totals 423 million tonnes grading 4.68% copper,
containing 43.7 billion pounds of copper. At the same 3% cut-off, Kamoa-
Kakula’s combined Inferred Mineral Resources now total 17 million tonnes
grading 3.51% copper, containing 1.3 billion pounds of copper.
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The new Kamoa Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource estimate was
prepared by George Gilchrist, Ivanhoe Mines’ Vice President, Resources,
under the direction of Gordon Seibel, RM SME, of the Wood Group (formerly
Amec Foster Wheeler E&C Services Inc.) of Reno, USA, and is reported in
accordance with the 2014 CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and
Mineral Reserves. Mr. Seibel is the Qualified Person for the estimate. The
effective date of the estimate is January 30, 2020, and the cut-off date for drill
data is January 20, 2020. Details of the estimate are in tables 1 – 9.
There has been no change to the Mineral Reserve estimate at Kamoa-Kakula.
Figure 1: Plan map of the Kamoa-Kakula mining licence (outlined in red),
showing the Kakula Deposit, Kamoa North Bonanza Zone, Kamoa Far
North Zone and the Kakula and Kakula West deposits. The project’s first
mine at Kakula is scheduled to begin production in Q3 2021.
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 DRC government (20%).
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Figure 2: Among the world’s largest copper deposits by contained
copper, Kamoa-Kakula has the highest copper grades by a wide margin.
Source: Wood Mackenzie
*Note: Selected based on contained copper (Measured & Indicated Mineral Resources, inclusive of
Mineral Reserves, and Inferred Mineral Resources), ranked on contained copper in Measured &
Indicated Mineral Resources.
Exploration will focus on finding more zones of ultra-high copper
mineralization to further boost Kamoa’s overall copper grades
The Bonanza and Far North zones were discovered within previously-drilled
areas following a review of the mineralization controls evident at the Kansoko,
Kakula and Makoko discoveries. An intense focus on understanding these
controls and how to recognize them from available data, provided the
exploration team at Kamoa-Kakula with the ability to target high-grade zones,
leading to infill drilling that included drill holes DD1450 and DD1571, the two
highest-grade intersections ever drilled at the Kamoa-Kakula Project.
Two drill rigs currently are drilling in the Kamoa North area, testing the typical
Kamoa-Kakula shallow mineralized horizon on previously-identified, high-
grade copper trends.
The ultra-high copper grades intercepted to date in the Kamoa North Bonanza
Zone are believed to be the result of an east-west growth fault focussing
copper-rich fluids to interface with both the typical mineralized horizon at
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Kamoa-Kakula and the overlying, highly-sulphidic and reduced Kamoa Pyritic
Siltstone (KPS). This has resulted in a new, upper mineralized zone hosted in
the KPS and characterized by the bonanza-grade copper found in the vicinity
of hole DD1450. These two zones combined provide an Indicated Mineral
Resource of 12 million tonnes at a copper grade of 4.65%, at a 3% cut-off
(Table 7).
Drilling in the Far North Zone has defined 2,500 metres of high-grade copper
along an approximately north-south trending fault where fluids have been
focussed into a very condensed sequence of basal diamictite and overlying
KPS. Drilling north of the Kamoa-Kakula mining licence, on Ivanhoe’s 100%-
owned Western Foreland exploration licences, has confirmed the continuation
of this corridor for at least one kilometre.
In the Kamoa North Bonanza Zone, the typical Kamoa-style mineralization,
hosted within the basal diamictite, is flat-lying with shallow dips between 0°
and 10°, whilst ultra-high copper grades hosted within the overlying KPS dip at
steeper angles (40°). The eastern portion of the Bonanza Zone (east of the
West Scarp Fault) and the Far North Zone occur in a shallow part of the
deposit, with the vast majority of the Mineral Resource <250 metres below
surface.
Lineaments in the aeromagnetic data, thought to be the controlling structures,
can be traced along trend into Ivanhoe’s adjoining, 100%-owned Western
Foreland exploration licences.
Kakula’s Mineral Resource also updated for the upcoming
Feasibility Study
The project geological team also updated the Mineral Resource estimate for
the Kakula Deposit. This updated resource estimate, which has an effective
date of November 10, 2018, will be incorporated into the Definitive Feasibility
Study for the Kakula Deposit that is being prepared.
Kakula’s updated Indicated Mineral Resources total 627 million tonnes grading
2.74% copper, at a 1% cut-off grade, containing 37.9 million pounds of copper.
At the same cut-off, Kakula has an additional Inferred Mineral Resource of 104
million tonnes grading 1.61% copper, containing 3.7 million pounds of copper.
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A drill rig in action at the Kamoa North Bonanza Zone.
Chalocite-rich core sample from a drill hole in the Kamoa North Bonanza
Zone. This sample graded 53% copper.
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Figure 3: Plan map showing the copper grades in the Kamoa North
Bonanza Zone and the Kamoa Far North Zone.
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Figure 4: Plan map showing the Mineral Resource classification of the
Kamoa North Bonanza Zone and the Kamoa Far North Zone.