Executives from Canada’s Ivanhoe Mines (TSX:IVN) met with high-ranking government officials in Kinshasa to provide updates on the development progress at the Kamoa-Kakula and Kipushi joint-venture mining projects.
In a press release, the miner reported that its team met with Prime Minister Sylvestre Ilunga Ilukamba, Mines Minister Willy Kitobo Samsoni, and Minister of Portfolio Clément Kuete Nymi Bemuna, who were formally appointed in August in a new coalition government led by President Felix Tshisekedi.
Kamoa-Kakula has been independently ranked as the world’s largest, undeveloped, high-grade copper discovery by Wood Mackenzie
“The DRC government is both our regulator and a key shareholder, held through the Minister of Portfolio, in the Kamoa-Kakula copper project,” Ivanhoe’s president, Tony Giardini, said in the media brief. “The discussions with respect to Kamoa-Kakula were extremely productive and both parties are working hard to ensure that the project starts producing copper as scheduled in the third quarter of 2021.”
The Kamoa-Kakula Project is a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines (39.6%), Zijin Mining Group (39.6%), Crystal River Global Limited (0.8%) and the DRC government (20%).
Located within the Central African Copperbelt, approximately 25 kilometres west of the town of Kolwezi, Kamoa-Kakula is a very large, near-surface, flat-lying, stratiform copper deposit with adjacent prospective exploration areas.
It is estimated that the deposit contains 1.34 billion indicated tonnes grading 2.72% copper for 80.7 billion pounds of copper, as well as 315 million inferred tonnes at 1.87% copper for 13 billion pounds copper.
The Kipushi project, on the other hand, is a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines (68%) and Gécamines (32%).
It is a high-grade zinc-copper-germanium-silver mine that both companies hope to restart soon.