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(Kitco News) - Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN) (OTCQX: IVPAF) announced today that the Kamoa-Kakula copper complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) produced a record 103,786 tonnes of copper in concentrate during the second quarter of 2023.
The company said Kamoa-Kakula milled a record 2.2 million tonnes of ore during the quarter at an average grade of 5.2% copper, adding that the record quarterly production was achieved despite maintenance shutdowns in June and intermittent grid instability.
According to a news release, the second quarter brings Kamoa-Kakula's year-to-date production to 197,389 tonnes of copper in concentrate, which includes the ramp-up of the debottlenecking initiatives since February 2023.
Ivanhoe pointed out that the 2023 annual production guidance for Kamoa-Kakula is maintained at between 390,000 to 430,000 tonnes of copper in concentrate.
Importantly, the company said that Kamoa-Kakula's Phase 3 expansion, consisting of two new underground mines known as Kamoa 1 and Kamoa 2 and a new, 5-million-tonne-per-annum concentrator plant, is well on track for first production in the fourth quarter of 2024.
More importantly, Ivanhoe also reported that construction of the smelter plant is now approximately 18% complete and the overall project progress is at 52%.
The 500,000 tonnes-per-annum copper smelter, which will be the largest in Africa and one of the largest in the world, is on target for starting production in the fourth quarter of 2024, it added.
Upon commencement of Phase 3 production, Kamoa-Kakula will have a processing capacity in excess of 14 million tonnes per annum. In the first five years of Phase 3 (2025 to 2029), copper production from the combined Kamoa-Kakula copper complex is expected to average approximately 650,000 tonnes per annum, at a cash cost (C1) of $1.15/lb.
“This production rate will position the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex as the fourth-largest copper mining operation in the world,” the company said.
Ivanhoe also noted that 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%).
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