Kamoa-Kakula produced 33,379 tonnes of filtered copper in concentrate in October 2022
KOLWEZI, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO – Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN; OTCQX: IVPAF) Co-Chairs Robert Friedland and Yufeng “Miles” Sun are pleased to announce today that the Kamoa-Kakula Mining Complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo produced 33,379 tonnes of filtered copper in concentrate during the month of October.
At the end of October, there was an additional 5,786 tonnes of floated, but not yet filtered, copper in inventory. This marks the second month in a row that floated and filtered copper production from the Kamoa-Kakula Mining Complex has exceeded 400,000 tonnes per annum on an annualised basis.
The Phase 1 and 2 milling and flotation circuits continue to operate in excess of design capacity. The difference between floated, and subsequently, filtered copper arises from the current bottleneck in concentrate thickening and filter capacity at the tail end of the processing circuit. Excess floated copper is currently being temporarily stored as a slurry in a fully-lined pond adjacent to the Phase 1 and 2 concentrators. The unfiltered copper in inventory will be reclaimed into the concentrate thickener and filter press once capacity is expanded following the installation of a new concentrate thickener and Larox filter press, as part of the ongoing de-bottlenecking program.
The previously announced de-bottlenecking program is approximately 70% complete and is tracking ahead of schedule. The program, which is expected to be complete in Q2 2023, will increase the combined design processing capacity of the Phase 1 and Phase 2 concentrator plants from 7.6 million tonnes per annum to approximately 9.2 million tonnes per annum.
Kamoa-Kakula’s Phase 1 and 2 concentrators milled 713,439 tonnes of ore in October, equivalent to a run rate of 8.6 million tonnes per year. During the month, the processing team at Kamoa-Kakula stress-tested the operating rate of the Phase 2 concentrator and over a 24-hour period achieved a record of approximately 14,000 tonnes of ore milled. This is equivalent to a milling rate from both the Phase 1 and 2 concentrators of 9.3 million tonnes per annum (after accounting for availability).
The installation of the scavenger-cleaner flotation cell at the Phase 2 Concentrator is nearing completion. The de-bottlenecking program is expected to be complete in Q2 2023.
Construction of the additional concentrate thickener is advancing well. The debottlenecking program is approximately 70% complete and is tracking ahead of schedule.
Ivanhoe Mines to issue Q3 2022 financial results and host conference call for investors on November 14
Ivanhoe Mines will report its Q3 2022 financial results, and a detailed update on its operations, before market open on Monday, November 14, 2022.
