{"id":1170515,"date":"2020-03-09T15:24:49","date_gmt":"2020-03-09T21:24:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/resourceworld.com\/?p=57604"},"modified":"2020-03-09T15:24:49","modified_gmt":"2020-03-09T21:24:49","slug":"ivanhoe-eyes-q3-2021-start-for-drc-copper-mine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/?p=1170515","title":{"rendered":"Ivanhoe eyes Q3, 2021 start for DRC copper mine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ivanhoe Mines Ltd.<\/strong>\u2019s [IVN-TSX, IVPAF-OTC] huge Kamoa-Kakula Copper Project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is on track to start production in the third quarter of 2021.<\/p>\n

The forecast is among the highlights of the company\u2019s 2019 full year results, which also contain a review of mine construction progress and exploration activities.<\/p>\n

\u201cDevelopment of the Kakula Mine, the first of multiple, planned mining areas at Kamoa-Kakula, is making excellent progress,\u201d the company said in a press release. It said the first underground access drives intersected Kakula\u2019s initial high-grade ore (+3% copper) in late August [2019], then intersected an even higher grade zone (approximately +6% copper) in late October [2019] as the drives advance towards mining zones of +8% copper in the centre of the Kakula deposit.<\/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 \u2013 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

Ivanhoe and partner Zijin Mining are advancing rapidly on civil works for the processing plant and other surface infrastructure. The joint venture has issued purchase orders for the long-lead mining and processing equipment. The first oversized loads of equipment of the processing plant arrived at the mine on February 21, 2020.<\/p>\n

On Monday, Ivanhoe shares were swept up on in the stock market plunge that is attributable to concerns raised by the Corona Virus. The shares were down 15% or 44 cents to $2.53 after previously trading in a 52-week range of $2.97 and $4.54.<\/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

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