During the second quarter of this year, TSX-listed Katanga Mining made progress with the high-grade clarifier, receiving thickener and the post-leach clarifier that form part of the whole ore leach (WOL) project at subsidiary Kamoto Copper Company’s copper/cobalt mine, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The core copper circuit of Train 2 at the WOL project is expected to be completed and commissioned during the third quarter.

Katanga’s WOL project includes the construction of optimised copper and cobalt circuits that are intended to reliably produce up to 300 000 t/y of copper cathode over the life of the mine.

This, the company noted, is achieved by adding additional leach capacity at Luilu in order to leach run-of-mine oxide ore directly rather than concentrating the oxide ore at Katanga’s Kamoto concentrator (KTC).

This puts the miner well on track to achieving its full-year guidance of 150 000 t of copper and 11 000 t of cobalt production.

This follows after the processing of copper and cobalt during construction was suspended in September 2015. The suspension continued throughout most of 2017, with copper production resuming on December 11, 2017.

The final components of the WOL project, being the Train 2 counter current decantation wash circuits and electro-winning tank house, are scheduled for completion and commissioning by the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, Katanga’s copper cathode production increased to 35 615 t in the second quarter, from 27 677 t in the first quarter.

Cobalt contained in hydroxide increased to 2 429 t in the second quarter, from 525 t in the first quarter. The increase in copper cathode and cobalt contained in hydroxide are related to the ongoing ramp-up of production and the commissioning and re-commissioning of related assets, Katanga explained on Tuesday.

In addition, total ore mined increased to 2.8-million tonnes in the second quarter from 250 000 t in the first quarter. Total ore mined increased to 4.2-million tonnes in the first half of the year, up from nil tonnes in the previous year.

Total contained copper increased to 58 350 t in the second quarter from 28 761 t in the first quarter. Total contained copper increased to 87 111 t in the first half of 2018 from nil tonnes in the previous year.

Total material milled increased to 1.9-million tonnes in the second quarter for KTC, while the total material milled increased to 3.5-million tonnes in the first half of the year.

Total concentrate produced increased to 65 519 t, while the total concentrate produced increased to 125 969 t in the first half of the year.

In terms of the miner’s cobalt project, the objective is to upgrade the existing cobalt plant design in order to reduce the bottlenecks and increase production capacity up to 40 000 t/y of cobalt contained in hydroxide by modification to the precipitation, thickening and filtration and drying and bagging processes.

The improvements being made as part of the cobalt projects will integrate with the existing WOL processing facilities at Luilu, the miner added.

Demolition works have been completed to facilitate future construction, civil and earthworks are under way in line with the project schedule and long lead items have been ordered.

The estimated completion for the cobalt projects is in the first quarter of 2019.