First Mining Drc-Zambia Sep/Oct 2017 FMDRC-Zambia Sep Oct | Page 30

Projects
New era of production draws closer at Kipushi
Robert Friedland, Executive Chairman of TSX-
Built and then operated by Union Minière for
expanded the Big Zinc deposit's measured and
listed Ivanhoe Mines, and Lars-Eric Johansson, 42 years, Kipushi began mining a reported 18 % indicated mineral resources to an estimated
Chief Executive Officer, have jointly announced copper from a surface open pit in 1924. It was 10,2 Mt grading 34,9 % zinc, 0,65 % copper, 19
t h at n e g ot i at i on s are u n d e r w ay w it h the world's richest copper mine at the time. g/t silver and 51 g/t germanium, at a 7 % zinc
government agencies – Gécamines, the state- en it transitioned to become Africa's richest cut-off, containing an estimated 7,8 billion
owned miner and Ivanhoe's partner at Kipushi, underground copper, zinc and germanium pounds of zinc.
and SNCC, the DRC's national railway mine. State-owned Gécamines gained control
company – and potential project nanciers to of Kipushi in 1967 and operated the mine until
advance agreements to launch a new era of 1993.
commercial production at the upgraded
Kipushi mine in the DRC.
Now, the planned restoration of production at
Kipushi is based on initial mining that will be
focused on the Big Zinc deposit.
e founding era of mining at Kipushi ended in
1993, when it was placed on care and
According to Ivanhoe, excellent progress has
e Kipushi zinc-copper-silver-germanium maintenance due to a combination of economic been made by KICO in modernising the
mine is owned by Kipushi Corporation (KICO), and political factors. Kipushi mine's underground infrastructure as
a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines (68 %)
part of preparations for the mine to resume
and Gécamines (32 %). It is located on the B efore Kipushi was idled, Gécamines c om me rc i a l pro du c t i on . Wit h t he
Central African Copperbelt in the province of discovered the Big Zinc deposit at a depth of underground upgrading programme nearing
Haut-Katanga, approximately 30 km south- approximately 1 250 m below surface and completion, KICO's focus will now shi to
west of the provincial capital of Lubumbashi adjacent to the producing Fault Zone. e Big modernising and upgrading Kipushi's surface
and less than 1 km from the international Zinc's mineral resources have never been infrastructure to handle and process Kipushi's
border with Zambia. mined. Ivanhoe's drilling has upgraded and high-grade zinc and copper resources.
Page30
|
Sep - Oct 2017
| FMDZ