First Mining Drc-Zambia March -April 2020 digital edition First Mining Drc-Zambia March - April 2020 digital | Page 10

NEWS
NEWS
Ivanhoe on track to start production in the
3rd quarter of 2021 for DRC copper mine
I
vanhoe Mines Ltd eyes 3rd quarter
of 2021 to start production in its huge
Kamoa-Kakula Copper Project in the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The forecast is among the highlights of
the company’s 2019 full year results,
which also contain a review of mine
construction progress and exploration
activities.
“Development of the Kakula Mine, the
first of multiple, planned mining areas
at Kamoa-Kakula, is making excellent
progress,” the company said in a press
release. It said the first underground
access drives intersected Kakula’s initial
high-grade ore (+3% copper) in late
August [2019], then intersected an even
higher grade zone (approximately +6%
copper) in late October [2019] as the
drives advance towards mining zones of
+8% copper in the centre of the Kakula
deposit.
The Kamoa-Kakula Copper Project is a joint
venture between Ivanhoe Mines (39.6%),
China’s Zijin Mining Group (39.6%), Crystal
River Global Ltd. (0.8%), and the DRC
government (20%). It already ranks among
the world’s biggest copper mines, with peak
annual production expected to exceed
700,000 tonnes.
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 on a 400 km2
mining license. 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 the third quarter of 2021. containing 45.8 billion pounds of copper.
At the same cut-off, Kamoa’s Inferred
Mineral Resources are estimated to
be 235 million tonnes, grading 1.70%
copper, containing 8.8 billion pounds of
copper.
Ivanhoe and partner Zijin Mining are
advancing rapidly on civil works for
the processing plant and other surface
infrastructure. The joint venture has
issued purchase orders for the long-lead
mining and processing equipment. The
first oversized loads of equipment of the
processing plant arrived at the mine on
February 21, 2020. Kamoa-Kakula is one of three projects
that the company is advancing in
Southern Africa. They also include:
On Monday, Ivanhoe shares were swept
up on in the stock market plunge that is
attributable to concerns raised by the
Corona Virus. The shares were down
15% or 44 cents to $2.53 after previously
trading in a 52-week range of $2.97 and
$4.54. The high-grade Kipushi zinc-copper-
silver-germanium mine, located in the
DRC. Ivanhoe is led by Singapore-based
mine financier Robert Friedland, who
holds a 17% interest in the company.
CITIC Metal Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of
the Chinese state-owned CITIC Group,
recently agreed to invest an additional
$612 million in Ivanhoe at $3.98 a share,
raising its stake in Ivanhoe to 29.9%
from just under 20%.
At a 1% cut-off, Kamoa’s Indicated
Mineral Resources now stand at 760
million tonnes, grading 2.73% copper,
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Ivanhoe recently said the initial cost of
developing its Kakula copper mine is
estimated at US$1.3 billion, an 18%
increase on earlier forecasts.
Mine development at the Platreef
platinum-palladium-gold-nickel copper
discovery on the Northern Limb of South
Africa’s Bushveld Complex.
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