{"id":1164225,"date":"2020-02-06T18:35:37","date_gmt":"2020-02-07T00:35:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/resourceworld.com\/?p=57434"},"modified":"2020-02-06T18:35:37","modified_gmt":"2020-02-07T00:35:37","slug":"ivanhoe-tables-new-copper-estimate-in-drc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/?p=1164225","title":{"rendered":"Ivanhoe tables new copper estimate in DRC"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ivanhoe Mines Ltd.<\/strong> [IVN-TSX; IVPAF-OTC] says its already huge Kamoa-Kakula Copper Project in the Democratic Republic of Congo has just gotten bigger, as shown by an updated resource estimate for the project.<\/p>\n

The Kamoa-Kakula Copper Project is a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines (39.6%), China\u2019s Zijin Mining Group (39.6%), Crystal River Global Ltd. (0.8%), and the DRC government (20%). It already ranks among the world\u2019s biggest copper mines, with peak annual production expected to exceed 700,000 tonnes.<\/p>\n

The Kamoa Deposit \u2013 originally discovered by Ivanhoe Mines\u2019 geologists in 2008 \u2013 is one of two very large, near-surface, flat-lying, stratiform copper deposits discovered on a 400 km2<\/sup> mining license. The other major deposit \u2013 Kakula is being fast-tracked to commercial production, with the initial 3.8 million tonne-per-annum mining operation scheduled to produce first concentrate in the third quarter of 2021.<\/p>\n

At a 1% cut-off, Kamoa\u2019s Indicated Mineral Resources now stand at 760 million tonnes, grading 2.73% copper, containing 45.8 billion pounds of copper. At the same cut-off, Kamoa\u2019s Inferred Mineral Resources are estimated to be 235 million tonnes, grading 1.70% copper, containing 8.8 billion pounds of copper.<\/p>\n

It means Kamoa\u2019s indicated copper content has increased by 15.5%, mostly due to the drilling of in the northern part of the deposit, an area known as North Bonanza.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe see excellent opportunity to add further shallow, higher-grade copper resources in the northern portion of the mining license in the general vicinity of the Bonanza Zone and the Far North Zone, as well as our adjoining wholly-owned Western Foreland exploration licenses, which should allow us to further unlock the exciting potential of this resource area,\u201d said George Gilchrist, Ivanhoe Mines\u2019 vice-president, resources.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, Ivanhoe shares rose 3.45% or 12.5 cents to $3.74 and now trade in a 52-week range of $3.00 and $4.54.<\/p>\n

The new estimate comes after Ivanhoe recently said the initial cost of developing its Kakula copper mine is estimated at US$1.3 billion, an 18% increase on earlier forecasts.<\/p>\n

Kamoa-Kakula is one of three projects that the company is advancing in Southern Africa. They also include:<\/p>\n