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(Kitco News) - Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN) announced on Wednesday that the Kamoa-Kakula copper complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) produced 93,603 tonnes of copper in concentrate in Q1 2023, compared to 92,761 tonnes in Q4 2022.
The company said that the Phase 1 and 2 concentrators are now regularly operating at the increased processing rate of 9.2 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa), following the completion of the debottlenecking program.
"The $50-million Phase 1 and 2 concentrator debottlenecking program was completed on-budget and ahead of schedule in late February, increasing production capacity up to 450,000 tonnes of copper in concentrate per annum," it added.
Importantly, according to a press release, following the completion of the debottlenecking, Kamoa-Kakula's Phase 1 and 2 concentrators had a record-breaking March.
"A production record of 34,915 tonnes of copper in concentrate was achieved during the month, in addition to a weekly production record of 9,016 tonnes in mid-March, and a daily production record of 1,563 tonnes on March 25. These records were achieved following two scheduled plant shutdowns during the first quarter to tie in the new debottlenecking equipment," Ivanhoe said.
The company noted that the Phase 1 and Phase 2 concentrators also substantially outperformed design specifications in terms of copper recovery during the month, with copper recoveries averaging 88.3% and periodically achieving 90%, significantly above Kamoa-Kakula's nameplate 86% recovery rate.
Ivanhoe Mines pointed out it maintains its 2023 annual production guidance for Kamoa-Kakula at between 390,000 to 430,000 tonnes of copper in concentrate.
"As the rainy season in the Democratic Republic of Congo ends our geological team will also be ramping up exploration activities on Ivanhoe's 90-100%-owned Western Foreland Exploration Project next door, where we expect to drill around 75,000 metres this year," the company said.
Ivanhoe indicated that Kakula is projected to be the world's highest-grade major copper mine, adding that 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.
The Kamoa-Kakula mining complex is operated by Kamoa Copper, a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines (39.6%), Zijin Mining Group (39.6%), Crystal River Global (0.8%) and the DRC government (20%).
Ivanhoe Mines is a Canadian mining company focused on the expansion of the Kamoa-Kakula mining complex in the DRC; the construction of the Platreef palladium-rhodium-platinum-nickel-copper-gold project in South Africa; and the restart of the historic Kipushi zinc-copper-germanium-silver mine, also in the DRC.
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