Canadian Mining company Ivanhoe Mines has announced the successful production of the first copper anodes at its Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, marking a major milestone with the commissioning of Africa’s largest copper smelter.
According to the firm’s Executive Co-Chairman Robert Friedland and President and Chief Executive Officer Marna Cloete, the first copper anodes were produced on December 29, 2025, at Kamoa-Kakula’s on-site, state-of-the-art 500,000-tonne-per-annum direct-to-blister copper smelter.
The achievement came approximately five weeks after the commencement of the smelter’s heat-up and just one week after the first feed of copper concentrate into the furnace.
Commenting on the milestone, Ivanhoe Mines’ Founder and Executive Co-Chairman Robert Friedland said, “The first production of copper anodes from our world-class smelter is a defining moment for Kamoa-Kakula… This achievement is the culmination of a $1.1 billion investment, 18 million man-hours of disciplined execution, and an outstanding health and safety record that reflects the professionalism and commitment of everyone involved.”
Friedland added, “This facility will proudly deliver the highest-quality Congolese copper anodes to the international markets, setting a new global benchmark for scale, efficiency, and sustainability.”
He further thanked the Kamoa Copper team, contractors, and global partners, saying their expertise, innovation, and teamwork made the delivery of the facility possible and ensured it will serve global consumers for generations.
The smelter is now ramping up toward a steady-state annualized production rate of 500,000 tonnes of 99.7%-pure copper anodes, making it the largest copper smelter on the African continent.
Ramp-up activities are expected to continue throughout 2026, with completion targeted toward the end of the year.
As announced on December 3, 2025, Kamoa-Kakula’s copper production for 2026 is estimated at between 380,000 and 420,000 tonnes, with the midpoint of 400,000 tonnes representing about 80% of total smelter capacity.
Management will prioritize processing concentrates from the Phase 1, 2, and 3 concentrators through the on-site smelter, while any excess material will be toll-treated at the Lualaba Copper Smelter near Kolwezi.
The heat-up and hot commissioning of the smelter furnace, boiler, steam systems, acid circuit, and concentrate dryer were completed in line with expectations, with the furnace operating at 1,250 degrees centigrade for five days before the first concentrate feed.
Before smelting began, on-site concentrate inventories contained about 37,000 tonnes of copper, which are expected to reduce to roughly 17,000 tonnes during 2026 as ramp-up progresses.
As a result, 2026 copper sales are projected to exceed production by approximately 20,000 tonnes as inventory is destocked, mainly in the first half of the year, allowing the company to benefit from near-record-high copper prices.
The smelter’s reliability is supported by a completed 60-megawatt uninterruptible power supply system that provides up to two hours of instantaneous backup power against grid fluctuations in the DRC.
Construction is also advancing on a 60-megawatt on-site solar facility with battery storage, expected to be operational from the second quarter of 2026 and to be the largest of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Ivanhoe said Kamoa-Kakula’s margins are expected to expand as on-site smelting replaces unbeneficiated concentrate exports, logistics costs are nearly halved, and additional revenue is generated from sulphuric acid sales.
The smelter has already produced its first batch of sulphuric acid and is expected to generate up to 700,000 tonnes per year, with strong local demand following Zambia’s September 2025 export ban.
Spot sulphuric acid prices have reached as high as $700 per tonne in Kolwezi, and Kamoa-Kakula has already completed its first acid sale, with delivery expected in the coming weeks.
The company also highlighted an industry-leading safety record during smelter construction, with only one lost time injury recorded over 18 million hours worked.
Separately, Stage Two dewatering at the Kakula Mine has been completed, enabling earlier-than-scheduled selective mining and positioning the operation for higher-grade production into 2026.
