KAMOA COPPER WILL INCREASE ITS PROCESSING CAPACITY BY 21%

 The Phase 1 and 2 concentrators are expected to produce a combined total of 9.2 million tonnes of ore per year.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO, KOLWEZI FEBRUARY 28, 2022 – Kamoa Copper has approved a debottlenecking plan with the aim of increasing the combined processing capacity of the Phase 1 and Phase 2 concentrators by approximately 21% from 7  .6 to 9.2 million tonnes of ore per annum (Mtpa), once steady-state production is achieved at both concentrators.

 The debottlenecking initiative is expected to increase Kamoa’s annual Phase 1 and Phase 2 copper production to over 450,000 tonnes by the second quarter of 2023, which will see the company become the world’s fourth largest producer  of copper.

 Mark Farren, CEO of Kamoa Copper, said: “The Kamoa Copper mining complex is blessed with an incredible amount of high-grade copper resources. As the development of our underground mines and the production of ore  are progressing faster than expected, the plant expansion will allow the operations team to process significantly more high-grade copper ore directly from the Kakula mine in the years to come.”

 “Our deposit has a huge advantage that allows us to scale our mining cut-off to mine larger tonnages very efficiently, while maintaining higher grades at a desired level. The expansion also provides the team with the flexibility to  ‘use our surface inventory, for which mining costs have already been paid, which totaled over 4.4 million tonnes grading 4.61% copper at the end of January.’

 Steve Amos, Projects Manager at Kamoa Copper, commented: “After successfully operating the Phase 1 concentrator for over eight months, we have identified relatively minor modifications to the concentrator which should increase ore throughput from the  current design from 475 tons per hour to 580 tons per hour.”

 “We anticipate the debottlenecking project will cost approximately US$50 million and will take approximately 12 months to complete. These modifications will allow the team to operate the mill at a permanent increased throughput without compromising the availability of  plant, copper recovery or copper concentrate grade,” Amos said.

 Construction of the 3.8 Mtpy Phase 2 mill is nearing completion and initial commissioning activities are underway.  Initial production of copper concentrate and hot commissioning of the concentrator with first ore are both scheduled for April 2022.

 Engineering and early work on Phase 3 of the expansion, including a new portal and twin inclines to access new mining areas, is progressing rapidly.  A third, significantly larger concentrator is under design and is expected to be commissioned in Q4 2024. An updated pre-feasibility study, including Phase 3 of the expansion, is expected in Q3 2022.

 Preliminary work on a direct-to-blister type flash smelter is also underway at the Kamoa Copper mining complex, and the smelter will have a design capacity of 500,000 tonnes per year of approximately 99% pure blister copper.  .

 New senior executive appointments

 Following the announcement of the retirement of Kamoa Copper’s Managing Director, Mark Farren, following the commissioning of Phase 2 of the expansion project, the company will appoint Riaan Vermeulen as Kamoa Copper’s Managing Director, on  month of June 2022.

 Mr. Vermeulen will work with Mr. Farren during a transition period to ensure a smooth transition prior to Mr. Farren’s retirement.

 Zhang “Frank” Xingxun will join Vermeulen on the Kamoa Copper management team.