Operations & Projects

Our portfolio of tier-one assets provides exposure to copper, platinum-group metals, nickel, zinc and other metals essential for the world’s transition to clean energy and a low-carbon economy. Our stakeholders benefit from long-life projects with low costs, low-capital intensity and leading ESG programs.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex

Ownership: Ivanhoe Mines 39.6%
Zijin Mining 39.6% | Crystal River 0.8% | DRC Government 20%

Production guidance for Kamoa-Kakula in 2023 is set between 390,000 and 430,000 tonnes copper in concentrate at cash costs between $1.40-1.50 per pound of payable copper. Over the first six months of 2023, Kamoa-Kakula has produced a total of 197,389 tonnes of copper in concentrate, placing it well on track to deliver annual production guidance. In 2022, the mining complex produced 333,500 tonnes of copper achieving the upper end of its guidance range.

Download Integrated Development Plan

$2.15 Billion

Record annual revenue recognized in 2022

650kt

Estimated annual copper production following the Phase 3 expansion

333,497

Tonnes of copper produced in 2022

390kt - 430kt

Kamoa-Kakula's 2023 copper production guidance

18,655 kt

Contained Copper - Probable Mineral Reserve

$1.40 - $1.50

Kamoa-Kakula 2023 cash cost guidance

The Kamoa-Kakula Copper Mine — a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines (39.6%), Zijin Mining Group (39.6%), Crystal River Global Limited (0.8%) and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (20%) — is a very large, near-surface, flat-lying, stratiform copper deposit with adjacent prospective exploration areas within the Central African Copperbelt, approximately 25 kilometres west of the town of Kolwezi and about 270 kilometres west of the provincial capital of Lubumbashi.

Kamoa-Kakula began producing copper concentrates in May 2021 and began commercial production on July 1, 2021. Phased expansion is projected to make Kamoa-Kakula the third-largest copper complex globally. Kamoa-Kakula is powered by clean, renewable hydro-generated electricity and is projected to be among the world’s lowest greenhouse gas emitters per unit of metal produced, as confirmed by a 2020 independant audit performed by Hatch Ltd., of Mississauga, Canada. The Kakula Mine will have one of the most favourable environmental footprints of any tier-one copper mine worldwide. Along with a relatively small surface footprint, approximately 55% of the mine’s tailings will be pumped back into underground workings. Ivanhoe Mines has pledged to achieve net-zero operational greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1 and 2) at the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Mine.

Phase 3 expansion to be completed in 2024

Phase 3 will increase Kamoa-Kakula’s annual copper production to a ten-year average of 650,000 tonnes of copper, at estimated cash costs of $1.22/lb. The expansion includes the commissioning of a 500,000-tonne-per-annum on-site, direct-to-blister copper smelter and refurbishment of Turbine #5 at the Inga II hydroelectric facility.

2023 Pre Feasibility Study assess an increase in production capacity

Kamoa-Kakula's 2023 PFS evaluates a staged increase in production capacity Kamoa-Kakula from the current nominal throughput rate of 7.6 Mtpa up to a total of 19.2 Mtpa by 2030.

Mine life extension to 42 years

The Kamoa-Kakula 2023 preliminary economic assessment (PEA) projects a nine-year mine life extension of the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex, in addition to the Kamoa-Kakula 2023 pre-feasibility study of 33 years. This case includes the addition of four new underground mines in the Kamoa area (called Kamoa 3, 4, 5 and 6) to maintain the overall production rate of up to 19.2 Mtpa.

Technical Reports

View document library
Kamoa-Kakula Integrated Development Plan 2023
Kamoa-Kakula Integrated Development Plan 2020, October 2020
Kamoa-Kakula 2020 Resource Update, March 2020
Kamoa-Kakula 2019 Integrated Development Plan, March 2019
Kamoa-Kakula 2018 Resource Update, March 2018

Recent Press Releases

View all press releases
Ivanhoe Mines Announces Updated Greenhouse Gas Assessment Confirming Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex as the World's Lowest Carbon-emitting Major Copper Mine
Kamoa-Kakula carbon emissions per unit of copper (Scope 1, 2 and 3) set to reduce by...
Read more
Ivanhoe Mines Reports Record Quarterly Production of 103,947 Tonnes from Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex for Q3 2023
Kamoa-Kakula milled 2.24 million tonnes of ore during the quarter at an average grade of 5.55%...
Read more