DRC Govt holds a 20% direct stake in Ivanhoé Mines
According to figures published on March 13, 2023 by Ivanhoé Mines, the direct participation of the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the mining company is estimated at 20%.
Indeed, Ivanhoe sold a 49.5% stake in Kamoa Holding Limited (Kamoa Holding) to Zijin Mining and a 1% stake in Kamoa Holding to private company Crystal River in December 2015.
However, Kamoa Holding has an 80% stake in the project.
Since the closing of the Zijin transaction, each shareholder has been required to fund expenses to Kamoa-Kakula in an amount equal to its proportionate interest.
Ivanhoe and Zijin Mining each hold an indirect interest of approximately 39.6% in Kamoa-Kakula, while Crystal River holds an indirect interest of 0.8%.
Operated as a joint venture by Kamoa Holding, Ivanhoé Mines and Zijin Minig, the Kamoa-Kakula complex has been independently named the fourth largest copper deposit in the world by 2025 by international consultant Wood Mackenzie.
Regarding its results, Kamoa-Kakula produced 333,497 tonnes of copper in 2022, an increase of 215% compared to the 2021 financial year.
As a reminder, for the 2022 fiscal year ended December 31 of the same year, the Kamoa-Kakula Phase 1 and 2 mills crushed approximately 2.0 million tonnes of ore during the fourth quarter at an average grade 5.4% copper, for a total of 7.1 million tonnes at an average grade of 5.5% copper. This included high-grade run-of-mine ore from the Kakula mine, supplemented with ores from surface stockpiles to meet throughput in excess of design capacity.
Within design parameters, copper recoveries averaged approximately 86% for the year.
