Ivanhoe Mines , Executive Co-Chairman Robert Friedland and President Marna Cloete announced today that the Phase 1, 2 and 3 concentrators at the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) achieved a combined monthly production record of 40,347 tonnes of copper in concentrate and a combined monthly milling record of 1.1 million tonnes during August.
On August 31, the Phase 1, 2 and 3 concentrators produced a combined daily production record of 2,096 tonnes of copper. This included 1,760 tonnes of copper from the Phase 1 and 2 concentrators, which was also a record.
Ramp-up of the Phase 3 concentrator to steady state production is progressing well, with approximately 350,000 tonnes of ore milled during August. This equates to an annualized throughout of 4.2 million tonnes per annum. The average daily milling rate was approaching the nameplate annualized processing rate of 5 million tonnes by month-end, with the potential to exceed nameplate.
The Phase 3 concentrator recovery rate averaged 77% during August. The commissioning of fine-grinding mills, manufactured by Metso Corporation of Helsinki, Finland, is the final stage required to achieve steady-state production. Hot commissioning of the fine-grinding mills is ongoing and is expected to be complete within the coming days. Once complete, copper recovery rates are expected to reach the concentrator’s nameplate target of 86%.
During August, the on-site backup power generation capacity was increased to 135 MW, following the commissioning of an additional 72 MW of generators that were delivered to site in July. With this additional backup power, Kamoa-Kakula can operate Phase 1 and 2 concentrators at full capacity with no grid power if required.
Year-to-date, the combined production from Kamoa-Kakula is approximately 263,000 tonnes of copper, of which 14,000 tonnes was produced by the Phase 3 concentrator. With further improvements in processing throughput and copper recovery following the commissioning of the fine-grinding mills in the Phase 3 concentrator, Kamoa-Kakula expects to continue its recent run of production records and achieve its 2024 guidance of between 440,000 and 490,000 tonnes of copper.
Ramp-up of the Phase 3 concentrator to steady state production is progressing well, with hot commissioning of the fine-grinding mills expected to be complete imminently, boosting recoveries to the nameplate target of 86%.
