Ivanhoe Mines announced the publication of its sixth annual Sustainability Report summarizing the company’s sustainability activities, performance, and results for 2022.
Kamoa-Kakula, has revealed its 2023 Integrated Development Plan (IDP), projecting a staged increase in nameplate production capacity. The company says it aims to achieve a total production capacity of 19.2 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) over a 42-year mine life. The announcement comes on the heels of Kamoa-Kakula’s impressive performance in 2022. Last year, the company produced 333,497 tonnes of copper, marking a significant 215% increase compared to the previous year. The output was also at the upper end of the company’s 2022 guidance.
Kamoa-Kakula’s plans for increased production capacity involve a phased approach. The company will undertake Phase 1 and Phase 2 debottlenecking projects to increase its throughput to 9.2 million tonnes of ore per year. This will be followed by the commissioning of Phase 3, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2024. Once completed, Phase 3 will give the company a processing capacity of more than 14 Mtpa.
Ivanhoe’s President Marna Cloete
Kamoa-Kakula’s IDP is part of the company’s long-term strategy to increase its copper production and become a leading global producer. The company’s President Marna Cloete stated, “When we set out to build the tier-one Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex, alongside our joint-venture partners at Zijin and the DRC government, we were resolute in our commitment to industry-leading standards in terms of resource efficiency, water and energy usage, and minimizing emissions. We knew that Kamoa-Kakula had the potential to become an example of how modern mining must be done – in partnership with local governments and communities, and with an unwavering focus on transparency and ESG best practices. “
Kamoa-Kakula’s mining operations are located in the Kolwezi region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The company’s operations have received widespread praise for their commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility. Kamoa-Kakula’s copper mine is one of the largest and highest-grade copper deposits in the world.
Since 2007, Ivanhoe has focused its exploration and development activities on defining and advancing the down-dip extension of its original discovery at Platreef, now known as the Flatreef Deposit, which is amenable to highly mechanized, underground mining methods. The independent 2022 feasibility study for the Platreef Project envisions a two-phased expansion up to a steady-state production rate of 5.2 Mtpa.
With Shaft 1 complete and hoisting development rock from underground since Q2 2022, Ivanhoe is focusing its construction activities on bringing Phase 1 of the Platreef Project into production during Q3 2024. The subsequent Phase 2 expansion is expected following the completion of Shaft 2 in 2027.
Phase 2 will consist of two 2.2 Mpta concentrators completed in 2028 and 2029, thereby increasing the steady-state production rate to 5.2 Mtpa. Life-of-mine cash costs, as per
the Platreef 2022 FS, are expected to be $514 per ounce of palladium, rhodium, platinum, and gold (3PE+Au), net of by-product nickel and copper credits. This will therefore rank
Platreef as the industry’s lowest cost primary PGM producer.
According to Wood Mackenzie, a leading, international industry research and consulting group, Kipushi’s exceptional zinc grade is more than twice that of the world’s next- highest-grade zinc project. Kipushi will be the world’s highest-grade major zinc mine, with an average grade of 36.4% zinc over the first five years of production.
On February 14, 2022, Ivanhoe Mines announced the positive findings of an independent feasibility study for the planned resumption of commercial production at Kipushi focusing on the mining of Kipushi’s zinc-rich Big Zinc and Southern Zinc zones, with an increased resource base compared to the pre-feasibility study, extending the mine life to 14 years. Envisioning the recommencement of underground mining operations based on a
two-year construction timeline, the principal development activity entails the construction of a conventional concentrator facility and new supporting infrastructure on surface.
Ivanhoe Mines has considered its operational impact on climate change through the company’s contribution of GHG emissions, including scopes 1, 2 and 3. “We take cognizance of the direct and indirect effect our operations have in terms of GHG emissions and accept that we must endeavor to reduce theses emissions across all our operations and supply chain, including through offsets where such reductions are not possible”, states the report.
Ivanhoe Mines has been consistently creating employment opportunities through the development of its projects. The company’s workforce increased by 19% from
2021 to 2022, totaling 14,749 as of December 31, 2022. In 2022, Ivanhoe Mines and its joint venture partners created and distributed a total value of $2.2 billion, provided $246 million in taxes and $95 million in wages and benefits.
The company’s commitment to sustainable local development extends to its contractors and service providers, ensuring that they embody the company’s values and objectives through its Contractor Compliance Framework. While Ivanhoe does not measure the direct and indirect economic impact of employee wage spending on local goods and services, it recognizes its importance in its economic contributions to host communities.
“Local employment remains one of our key priorities, for example, over 97% of our full time employees at Kamoa-Kakula are from the DRC. We will continue this excellent track record of local employment and training through initiatives such as our world-class training centers, skills development programs, and inclusion targets”, concludes Cloete.
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