The Kamoa-Kakula Copper Mine — a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines (39.6%), Zijin Mining Group (39.6%), Crystal River Global Limited (0.8%) and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (20%) — is a very large, near-surface, flat-lying, stratiform copper deposit with adjacent prospective exploration areas within the Central African Copperbelt, approximately 25 kilometres west of the town of Kolwezi and about 270 kilometres west of the provincial capital of Lubumbashi.
Kamoa-Kakula began producing copper concentrates in May 2021 and began commercial production on July 1, 2021. On June 10, 2024 first concentrate production from the Phase 3 concentrator was achieved, months ahead of schedule. The Phase 3 concentrator expansion reached commercial production early in Q3, 2024 and is expected to boost production to over 600,000 tonnes of copper per annum, making Kamoa-Kakula the largest copper mine on the African continent.
Kamoa-Kakula’s 500,000-tonne-per-annum on-site, direct-to-blister copper smelter and the refurbishment of Turbine #5 at the Inga II hydroelectric facility are advancing on schedule. Construction completion of the smelter is expected by the end of 2024, and Turbine #5 by Q1 2025.
Kamoa-Kakula is powered by clean, renewable hydro-generated electricity and is projected to be among the world’s lowest greenhouse gas emitters per unit of metal produced, as confirmed by a 2020 independent audit performed by Hatch Ltd., of Mississauga, Canada. The Kakula Mine will have one of the most favourable environmental footprints of any tier-one copper mine worldwide. Along with a relatively small surface footprint, approximately 55% of the mine’s tailings will be pumped back into underground workings. Ivanhoe Mines has pledged to achieve net-zero operational greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1 and 2) at the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex.
Reference
https://www.ivanhoemines.com/what-we-do/operations-projects/kamoa-kakula-mining-complex/
