Ivanhoe Mines Energy, a subsidiary of TSX-listed Ivanhoe Mines and sister company of Kamoa Copper, has been tasked with delivering reliable, clean, renewable hydropower to the Kamoa-Kakula copper mine, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Ivanhoe Mines has also extended its existing financing agreement under a public-private partnership (PPP) with the DRC's State-owned power company, La Société Nationale d' Électricité (SNEL), to upgrade Turbine 5, a major turbine at the existing Inga II hydropower facility on the Congo river. 

Ivanhoe Mines co-chairs Robert Friedland and Yufeng "Miles" Sun on August 16 said the extension of this financing agreement builds on the framework agreed in the memorandum of understanding signed with SNEL and announced in April.

An estimated 162 MW of hydropower is expected to be generated by upgrading Inga II's Turbine 5, which, when combined with the 78 MW of hydropower from the Mwadingusha facility, will give Kamoa-Kakula priority access to a combined 240 MW of clean, renewable electricity.

The financing agreement was originally entered into in connection with the joint rehabilitation of the Mwadingusha hydropower plant under the first PPP with SNEL, where five of six turbines have now been completed.

Under this financial arrangement, rehabilitation and upgrade activities are financed by Kamoa Copper's holding company, Kamoa Holding, by way of a loan to SNEL, which will be repaid through a deduction to monthly power bills incurred over the life of the loan.

Kamoa Copper and SNEL, with the expertise of Switzerland-based Stucky SA and Germany-based Voith Hydro, respectively the engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) work and the contractor, have started a technical assessment to define the scope of work and associated costs estimate.

The work also will include upgrading of the terminal equipment on the Inga-Kolwezi transmission line to increase its transfer capacity by at least 200 MW.

Friedland said the Kamoa Copper management team continues to execute on the strategic plan to systematically expand Kamoa-Kakula into one of the world's largest and greenest copper producers.

“The timely refurbishment of Turbine 5 at the Inga II hydropower complex is instrumental in ensuring we meet the aggressive expansion goals we've set out to accomplish in the next few years."

SNEL CEO Jean-Bosco Kayombo Kayan, meanwhile, added that SNEL and Ivanhoe Mines Energy “are confident that the Inga II project will enjoy the same success” as the joint rehabilitation of the Mwadingusha hydroelectric power station.

The Kamoa-Kakula copper project is a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines (39.6%), Zijin Mining Group (39.6%), Crystal River Global (0.8%) and the DRC government (20%).