Kamoa Copper on track to be among ten largest copper mines globally
Canadian miner Ivanhoe Mines has set its sights on producing between 290 000 t and 340 000 t of copper in concentrate this year.
The Kamoa copper project, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, produced 105 884 t of copper in concentrate in 2021. This exceeded the upper end of the guidance range, which was set at between 92 500 t and 100 000 t.
The project has been ramping up its processing capacity as part of Phase 1. Phase 2 expansion is 80% complete and will start operations in the second quarter of the year.
Phase 2 will take the plant’s nameplate milling capacity to 3.8-million tonnes a year.
Ivanhoe co-chairperson Robert Friedland says Phase 2 remains significantly ahead of schedule and that the project is well on its way to doubling its annualised copper output to more than 400 000 t starting early in the second quarter – vaulting Kamoa Copper into the ranks of the world’s ten largest copper mines.
Phase 3 of the concentrator expansion is targeted for 2024, with earthworks to access new mining areas already under way.
"Our outstanding team of geologists is confident that the Kamoa and Kakula mines are just the initial discoveries of a major new mining district, which extends the storied African Copperbelt in a southwesterly direction all the way to the Zambian border.
“We will be conducting an extensive drilling campaign on our majority-owned Western Foreland exploration licences this year to unlock the potential of this highly-prospective ground,” Friedland says.
Meanwhile, the guidance range for cash costs (C1) per pound of payable copper in 2022 is between $1.20/lb and $1.40/lb of payable copper.
C1 costs per pound of payable copper for the tird qurter of 2021 totalled $1.37/lb, while cost of sales per pound of payable copper sold for the third quarter was $1.08/lb.
Comments
The
content
you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.
If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.
If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.
For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation