DRC: Kamoa Copper Phase 2 Mill 93% Complete, Commissioning Expected April 2022
Kamoa Copper’s 3.8 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) mill is 93% complete as of January 31, 2022. Concentrator hot commissioning to begin in April 2022, ending previous forecast of Q2 2022 and several months before the initial schedule.
Hot commissioning involves introducing the first ore into the plant at a reduced feed rate to set equipment parameters and test performance. The feed rate is then regularly increased.
Kamoa Copper continues to make significant progress on the construction of the Phase 2 mill, and the mill is expected to be approximately 93% complete by the end of January . Hot commissioning is now expected to begin in April, and the first copper concentrate produced from the Phase 2 plant is expected approximately one week after the ore is fed into the ball mills.
The Stage 2 plant is identical to the 3.8 Mtpa Stage 1 mill and a faster ramp-up profile is expected, with the added benefit of operational knowledge gained during commissioning. phase 1 service.
By comparison, the Stage 1 concentrator reached monthly design throughput in September 2021, which was the fourth full month of operation. The first ore was brought into Kamoa Copper’s Phase 1 Concentrator on May 20, 2021 and the first concentrate was produced from the Phase 1 Plant on May 25, 2021. The Phase 1 Concentrator is currently operating at a rate higher than its design. capacity of 3.8 Mtpa by more than 15%, with 117% of nominal flow reached in December. Copper recoveries are also achieved that exceed design recovery by 86%, depending on power quality, with December recoveries being approximately 2% higher.
Ivanhoe Mines is a Canadian-based mining company focused on advancing its three main projects in Southern Africa: the development of major new mechanized underground mines at the Kamoa-Kakula copper discoveries in the Democratic Republic of Congo and at Platreef palladium- rhodium-platinum – discovery of nickel-copper-gold in South Africa; and the extensive redevelopment and modernization of the historic Kipushi zinc-copper-germanium-silver mine, also in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Kamoa-Kakula began producing copper concentrates in May 2021 and, through incremental expansions, is positioned to become one of the largest copper producers in the world. Kamoa-Kakula is powered by clean, renewable hydroelectric electricity and is expected to be among the lowest emitters of greenhouse gases in the world per unit of metal produced. Ivanhoe Mines is committed to achieving net zero operational greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1 and 2) at the Kamoa-Kakula copper mine. Ivanhoe is also exploring new copper discoveries on its Western Foreland exploration licenses in the Democratic Republic of Congo near the Kamoa-Kakula project.
