Ivanhoe Mines reported a record production of 103,947 tonnes of copper concentrate in the third quarter of the year at its Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
This brings the total copper concentrate production for the nine months ending September 30 to 301,336 t.
Ivanhoe's full-year production projection for Kamoa-Kakula remains between 390 000 and 430 000 t of copper in concentrate.
"Kamoa-Kakula continues to set records and outperform our expectations, with continued strong performance in terms of throughput, grade, and recovery at the Phase 1 and Phase 2 plants,” said Ivanhoe co-chairperson Robert Friedland.
“This has all been achieved despite ongoing challenges presented by electrical grid instability, where we now have a plan in place with the Congolese national utility to materially improve reliability across the network for all users over the next year.”
He said that the Phase 3 expansion remains within budget and is on track for completion in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The Phase 3 expansion involves developing Kamoa 1 and Kamoa 2 underground mines and a new concentration facility with a capacity of five million tonnes per year.
It also involves the integration of Africa's largest direct-to-blister flash smelter, with a capacity of 500,000 t per year of copper.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
