Ivanhoe’s giant Kamoa-Kakula hits stage 3 commercial copper production in Congo

Ivanhoe Mines’ (TSX: IVN; US-OTC: IVPAF) Kamoa-Kakula copper mine, the world’s third-largest, has reached commercial production in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the company said Monday.

The concentrator had previously started production just over two months ago, shortly after its construction was completed ahead of schedule at the end of May.  

"Kamoa-Kakula's operations team continues to achieve a very rare feat in our industry, delivering world-scale copper development projects ahead of schedule, while also advancing smoothly through to commercial production at an impressive rate,” Robert Friedland, Ivanhoe’s executive co-chair, said in a release.

He added that the mine’s record-setting production in July of 35,941 tonnes marked the rapid copper growth in the second half of the year, with the stage three concentrator ready to raise Kamoa-Kakula’s annual capacity from about 450,000 tonnes to more than 600,000 tonnes.

The production milestone further solidifies Kamoa-Kakula’s status, in which China’s Zijin Mining holds an equal stake to Ivanhoe, after the world’s top two copper mines Escondida in Chile and Grasberg in Indonesia. The mine’s also the largest copper operation in Africa.