JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The preliminary economic assessment (PEA) detailing the initial options available to TSX-listed Ivanhoe Mines to begin its copper mining operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, is expected to be finalised this week.
The independent PEA of the Kakula and Kamoa deposits aims to establish the economic parameters of a potential four-million-tonne-a-year mining operation at Kakula, a joint venture between Ivanhoe and Chinese nonferrous metal producer Zijin Mining Group.
The engineering team at the Kamoa-Kakula copper project, some 25 km west of Kolwezi, expected to shortly finalise and issue the report, said Ivanhoe executive chairperson Robert Friedland in an update to shareholders on Tuesday.
Australian consultancy OreWin, Amec Foster Wheeler E&C Services and SRK Consulting are preparing the PEA.
The Kamoa-Kakula deposits boast combined indicated mineral resources of 944-million tonnes, grading 2.83% copper and contain 58.9-billion pounds of 1% copper cutoff grade ore, and a minimum thickness of 3 m.
Kamoa-Kakula also has inferred mineral resources of 286-million tonnes, grading 2.31% copper and containing 14.6-billion pounds of copper.