Drilling activity at Kipushi mine, in DRC
TSX-listed Ivanhoe Mines’ subsidiary Kipushi Holding has signed an agreement with Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) State-owned mining company Gécamines to return the ultrahigh-grade Kipushi zinc mine back to commercial production.
The agreement forms the basis of what will be a commercial joint venture agreement between the companies.
Ivanhoe says Kipushi could be the world's highest-grade major zinc mine, with an average grade of 36.4% zinc over the first five years of production.
Gécamines chairperson Alphonse Kaputo Kalubi is convinced Kipushi's new partnership around “the Big Zinc” will be a benchmark for a successful combination of expertise, resources, a unique asset and a shared desire to create value for stakeholders, the State, shareholders and neighbouring communities.
Kipushi, like Ivanhoe’s highly successful copper project Kamoa-Kakula, brings new standards, employment opportunities, better health and education infrastructure and the conditions for the emergence of a dynamic socioeconomic fabric around Kipushi, he adds.
Gécamines, which has operated this mine for a long time, aims, by consolidating its partnership with Ivanhoe, to optimise its contribution to the DRC's mining sector.
Ivanhoe president Marna Cloete says the new agreement allows Kipushi Holding to responsibly, efficiently and expeditiously develop into an ultrahigh-grade zinc producer, with outstanding potential to find more zinc, copper, germanium and silver resources – paving the way to fulfilling its promise of significant, long-lasting, economic and social benefits for the Congolese people.