Kolwezi -
Hot commissioning involves introducing first ore into the plant at a reduced feed rate to set equipment parameters and test performance. Feed rate is then steadily increased.
Kamoa Copper continues to make significant construction progress on the Phase 2 concentrator plant, and the plant is expected to be approximately 93% complete by the end of January. Hot commissioning now is expected to commence in April, and the first copper concentrate produced from the Phase 2 plant is expected approximately one week after ore is fed into the ball mills.
The Phase 2 plant is identical to the Phase 1 3.8-Mtpa concentrator plant and a faster ramp-up profile is expected, with the added benefit of operational knowledge gained during the commissioning of Phase 1.
For comparison, the Phase 1 concentrator reached monthly design throughput during
A dedicated project team has been appointed to de-bottleneck both the Phase 1 and Phase 2 concentrators (after commissioning), with targeted improvements aimed at increasing plant throughput from the design of 7.6 million tonnes per annum to 9.0 million tonnes per annum and producing up to 450,000 tonnes per annum of copper in concentrate from the first two plants once steady-state is achieved.
As announced earlier this month, the 2022 production guidance for the
'While most of the mining industry struggles to meet construction timelines and budgets, Kamoa Copper continues to exceed expectations in delivering on the project's first two development phases,' said
The Phase 3 expansion, which is expected to be commissioned in Q4 2024, also is advancing, with work ongoing on a new box cut to access the
'Mark has accomplished a great deal during his time with
'From all of us at
'It is a well-known adage that time spent fishing is not deducted from one's lifespan; as such, when Mark gets bored catching fish, we will gladly welcome him back in a senior role with any of the Ivanhoe group of companies.'
Yufeng 'Miles' Sun added: 'Kamoa-Kakula has become an industry benchmark under Mark's leadership, especially given the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. I salute Mark's significant contributions and wish him continuous success.'
Jinghe Chen, Chairman of
Ben Munanga, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kamoa Copper, also commented: 'Kamoa Copper's outstanding success to date is a product of the culture and values promoted throughout the organization under Mark's guidance. Mark has been instrumental in developing strong managerial talent at Kamoa Copper, and we are confident that his legacy will continue for many years to come.'
'I am incredibly proud of playing a part in Kamoa-Kakula's success, and I'm convinced that the best is still to come. I will continue to work with my successor and the rest of the team to ensure the smooth commissioning of the Phase 2 expansion.'
About the
Kamoa-Kakula is projected to be the world's highest-grade major copper complex, with an initial mining rate of 3.8 Mtpa at an estimated, average feed grade of more than 6.0% copper over the first five years of operations, and 5.9% copper over the initial 10 years of operations. Phase 1 is expected to produce approximately 200,000 tonnes of copper per year, while the Phase 2 expansion is forecast to increase production to more than 400,000 tonnes of copper annually. Based on independent benchmarking, the project's phased expansion scenario to 19 Mtpa would position Kamoa-Kakula as the world's second-largest copper mining complex, with peak annual copper production of more than 800,000 tonnes.
About
Kamoa-Kakula began producing copper concentrates in
Contact:
Tel: +1.604.331.9834
Forward-looking statements
Certain statements in this release constitute 'forward-looking statements' or 'forward-looking information' within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company, its projects, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as 'may', 'would', 'could', 'will', 'intend', 'expect', 'believe', 'plan', 'anticipate', 'estimate', 'scheduled', 'forecast', 'predict' and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events or results 'may', 'could', 'would', 'might' or 'will' be taken, occur or be achieved. These statements reflect the company's current expectations regarding future events, performance and results and speak only as of the date of this release.
Such statements include without limitation, (i) statements regarding hot commissioning of the Phase 2 concentrator is on track to begin in
Forward-looking statements and information involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indicators of whether or not such results will be achieved. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements or information, including, but not limited to, the factors discussed below and under 'Risk Factors', and elsewhere in this release, as well as unexpected changes in laws, rules or regulations, or their enforcement by applicable authorities; the failure of parties to contracts with the company to perform as agreed; social or labour unrest; changes in commodity prices and the failure of exploration programs or studies to deliver anticipated results or results that would justify and support continued exploration, studies, development or operations.
Although the forward-looking statements contained in this release are based upon what management of the company believes are reasonable assumptions, the company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this release and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Subject to applicable securities laws, the company does not assume any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this release. The company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of the factors set forth below in the 'Risk Factors' section in the company's 2021 Q3 MD&A and its current annual information form.
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