DRC: Ivanhoe Mines totals 76,000 tonnes of copper in preproduction in Kamoa-Kakula at the end of January 2021
Co-Chairs Robert Friedland and Yufeng “Miles” Sun announced at the beginning of February that the underground development of the Kamoa-Kakula copper project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has extracted and stored 300,000 tonnes of ore grading 5.45% of copper from the Kakula and Kansoko mines in January 2021. The tonnage was 11.5% higher than in December, while the copper content was 1.6% higher.
The 300,000 tonnes mined in January included 231,000 tonnes at an average grade of 6.20% copper, including 82,000 tonnes at 8.80% copper from the high-grade center at the Kakula mine.
“The project’s pre-production surface stocks now contain approximately 1.82 million tonnes of high and medium grade ore at an estimated grade of 4.23% copper. Copper in inventories rose by around 16,000 tonnes in January – a 25.9% increase from December production reflecting increased mining activity in the very high-grade center of the Kakula deposit – to reach a cumulative total of over 76,000 tonnes (the current price of copper is around US $ 7,940 per tonne), ”the company said in its press release.
Kamoa-Kakula, the two co-chairs believe, is on track to store around three million tonnes of high and medium grade ore in surface storage, containing more than 125,000 tonnes of contained copper, before processing begins. in July 2021.
“In the mining industry, quality is king,” said Friedland. “And the remarkable quality of the ore from Kakula is unprecedented for a major mechanized copper mine of this size. We are only five months away from planned first production, which will mark the next step in Ivanhoe Mines’ evolution into a leading and diversified mining company with a portfolio of development and exploration of high-value, critical green metals. .
Mr. Friedland and Mr. Sun also congratulated the project team for setting a new monthly record for underground mine development in January with a total of 2,869 meters of progress.
“Very good operational and safety performance from our mining teams in January, and overall a great start to 2021,” said Mr. Friedland. “We are extremely proud of the more than 6,000 colleagues on site who deliver this exceptional project on time and on budget. As we rapidly approach initial production, the project is busy recruiting and training the team that will operate the brand new concentration plant, creating hundreds of additional well-paying permanent jobs for local Congolese women and men ” , he added.
