Kakula copper mine advancing ahead of schedule, says Ivanhoe
Underground development at TSX-listed Ivanhoe Mines’ Kakula copper mine, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, continues to advance ahead of schedule, with more than 15.4 km now complete, or 4.7 km ahead of plan.
In May, the mining team set its fifth consecutive monthly development record of 1 868 m of underground advancement – 535 m ahead of plan for the month.
In a statement on June 4, co-chairpersons Robert Friedland and Yufeng “Miles” Sun said major development at the Kakula mine is primarily in ore with an average grade of about 8% copper.
This ore is being placed on a dedicated, high-grade surface stockpile that now totals about 51 000 t, grading an estimated 5.86% copper.
An adjacent medium-grade stockpile contains about 306 000 t, grading an estimated 3.06% copper.
The high-grade stockpile is projected to significantly expand in the coming months as the majority of Kakula’s underground development will be in mining zones grading more than 5% copper.
Friedland and Sun also noted that the fabrication of structural steel and key equipment for Kakula’s initial 3.8-million-tonne-a-year processing plant was progressing rapidly at manufacturing facilities in China, South Africa and Europe.
Fabrication of the second plant’s largest components – the ball mills – is nearing completion at CITIC Heavy Industries’ factory in Luoyang, China, and shipping of major components is under way.
About 100 truckloads of equipment for the processing plant are en route to the Kakula mine from the Port of Durban, in South Africa.
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