Ivanhoe Mines has announced that the Phase 3 concentrator at the Kamoa-Kakula copper complex in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has entered commercial production.
The combined output from the Phase 1, 2, and 3 concentrators at the Kamoa-Kakula complex reached 35,941 tonnes of copper last month.
According to Ivanhoe Mines, the swift ramp-up to commercial production for Phase 3 was facilitated by insights gained from the earlier phases, which also achieved commercial production within a similar timeframe.
Currently, Phase 3 is operating at its designed processing rate of five million tonnes of ore per annum. On several occasions, the milling capacity has exceeded the nameplate rate by up to 19% over 24-hour periods.
The final stage of ramp-up involves the commissioning of fine-grinding mills, which are expected to enhance copper recovery from around 80% to the target of 86%.
These mills, supplied by Finland-based Metso are in the process of being installed, with commissioning slated to begin by the end of August.
The Phase 3 concentrator at the Kamoa-Kakula copper complex was completed ahead of schedule in May 2024. It produced the first copper concentrate in June 2024.
Following the recent completion of “Project 95” basic engineering work for Phases 1 and 2, Kamoa Copper’s engineering team will soon start a study focused on increasing the recovery rate of phase 3 to over 90% and boosting its processing capacity.
Phase 3 has produced more than 11,000 tonnes of copper in concentrate since its inception. The first sale of copper concentrate from Phase 3 occurred in July, with all concentrate thus far being toll smelted at the nearby Lualaba copper smelter (LCS) in Kolwezi.
More than 33,000 wet metric tonnes of copper concentrate have been delivered to LCS so far.
Prior to the start-up of the on-site copper smelter in early 2025, a portion of the Phase 3 copper concentrate will be stockpiled on-site, with the rest continuing to be sent to LCS.
The Phase 3 concentrator at the complex is expected to produce about 150,000 tonnes of copper annually on its own. When combined with the output from Phases 1 and 2, the total copper production capacity at the Kamoa-Kakula complex is projected to exceed 600,000 tonnes per annum.
The Canadian mining company claimed that the Kamoa-Kakula complex will be the third-largest copper mining operation in the world.
Ivanhoe Mines executive co-chairman Robert Friedland said: “Kamoa-Kakula’s record-setting production in July marks the onset of rapid copper growth over the second half of 2024, with Phase 3 on track to increase annualised production capacity from approximately 450,000 tonnes to over 600,000 tonnes.
“We are also pursuing avenues to maximise copper production from Kamoa-Kakula’s current operating footprint, with recoveries anticipated to increase via our ‘Project 95’ program, and overall throughput to also increase through the near-term debottlenecking of the Phase 3 concentrator.”
