Ivanhoe Mines’ ore stockpiles from the Kakula and Kansoko mines of the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Project in January 2021 grew by 11.5pc to 300,000mt with 5.45pc copper grades as compared to December 2020, the company said in a statement.
The project is located in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The company said the copper grade in January was higher by 1.6pc as compared to the prior month.
The total stockpile also included 231,000mt of ore at an average of 6.20pc grade copper, with 82,000mt grading 8.80pc copper from the high-grade center of the Kakula Mine.
The project’s pre-production surface stockpiles currently contain approximately 1.82mn mt of high-grade and medium-grade ore at an estimated blended grade of 4.23pc copper.
Contained copper in the stockpiles in January 2021 grew by 25.9pc to 76,000mt from December 2020, reflecting increased mining activity in the ultra-high-grade center of the Kakula Deposit.
The Kamoa-Kakula is on track to have 3mn mt of high-grade and medium-grade ore stockpiled on the surface, holding more than 125,000mt of contained copper ahead of the production process.
The mine is projected to be the world’s highest-grade major copper mine, with an initial mining rate of 3.8mt mt per annum at an estimated average feed grade of more than 6.0pc copper initially and then ramping up to 7.6mn mt per annum.
Copper concentrate production at the project is expected to begin in July 2021.
The Kamoa-Kakula Copper Project is a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines, Zijin Mining Group, Crystal River Global Limited, and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo.