Canadian mining company Ivanhoe Mines has announced the results of an updated independent technical report for the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo, confirming a substantial mineral resource base and a long-term plan to ramp up production beyond 500,000 tonnes of copper annually from 2028.
The report, titled the Kamoa-Kakula 2025 Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE), underpins a multi-decade mine plan based on Phase 1, 2 and 3 concentrator operations running at a steady-state rate of 17 million tonnes per annum over approximately 25 years.
According to the company’s Co-Chairman Robert Friedland and President and Chief Executive Officer Marna Cloete, the updated report reflects both the scale of the asset and a more cautious, technically robust approach to future mining.
The Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex is operated by the Kamoa Holding joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin Mining, which holds an 80% stake, while the Democratic Republic of Congo government owns the remaining 20%. Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin Mining each hold an indirect 39.6% interest, with Crystal River holding 0.8%.
The updated Mineral Reserve estimate stands at 466 million tonnes of ore grading 2.82% copper, containing 13.1 million tonnes of copper. The estimate incorporates revised mine design and extraction sequencing, reflecting more conservative geotechnical assumptions.
In addition, the Indicated Mineral Resource remains largely unchanged at 1.27 billion tonnes grading 2.65% copper, containing about 34 million tonnes, while Inferred Resources total 336 million tonnes at 1.82% copper for an additional 6.1 million tonnes.
Robert Friedland said: “Kamoa-Kakula is the epicentre of the richest sedimentary copper district on Earth. Our mine combines extraordinary grade over a very long life … and we are supported by hydroelectric and solar power. Building on this endowment, this technical report sets a base case from which we will build copper production up to a new high of over 500,000 tonnes per annum.”
He added: “The world is currently experiencing a crude wake-up call of just how fragile global supply chains are… and against this backdrop of global uncertainty, Tier-One mining operations like Kamoa-Kakula become even more critical to national security. Out of an abundance of caution, we have secured additional supplies of diesel. In addition, our first two modules totalling 60 MW of on-site solar, combined with battery storage to provide continuous power, will be commissioned in Q2 2026… with a further 60 MW in the pipeline to come next year, enabling us to keep supplying the world economy with 99.7%- pure copper anodes … as well as ever more valuable sulphuric acid, which the Democratic Republic of the Congo… absolutely depends on.”
Friedland also noted: “We are also looking forward to sharing positive developments from our Platreef Mine, the Western Forelands and Kipushi Mine soon…”
Marna Cloete said: “Over the past year, the Kamoa Copper team expended significant efforts to safeguard the Kakula Mine after a challenging 2025. We are determined to strengthen the technical foundation of our operations, with a focus on long-term stability and performance… Today’s updated Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource estimate is an important step in the right direction.”
She added: “We will not take shortcuts in our rehabilitation program to ensure that the updated mine design is conservative, safe, productive and sustainable over the life of the operation. While conservative baseline assumptions have an impact on production levels in 2026 and 2027, we are setting up Kamoa-Kakula for new production records from 2028 onwards… with target production levels over 500,000 tonnes of copper anodes and blister, over a multi-decade life.”
Cloete further said: “One should also not overlook our past achievements. We have built this operation over the past six years at a record pace and on budget, producing over 1.6 million tonnes of copper and generating over $7 billion of EBITDA… The smelter is ramping up ahead of schedule and is now delivering additional margin via significant by-product sulphuric acid sales and very significant reductions in the cost of shipping our 99.7%-pure copper to market.”
She added: “We are also pleased to welcome Simon Bottoms as Executive Vice President, Technical Services, to Ivanhoe Mines… he will be instrumental in the next phase of optimization and long-term planning at Kamoa-Kakula.”
The report, dated March 31, 2026, was prepared by AMC Mining Consultants South Africa and MSA Group in compliance with National Instrument 43-101 standards and will be filed on SEDAR+ and the company’s website.
