Ivanhoe Mines’ Kamoa-Kakula Phase Three Reaches Commercial Production, Elevating Copper Output

Ivanhoe Mines, a Canada-based mining firm, announced on Monday that the phase three concentrator at its Kamoa-Kakula copper mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has officially reached commercial production. This milestone boosts the mine's copper production capacity to a staggering 600,000 tons per year, solidifying its position as the world’s third-largest copper mining complex.

Since initiating production, the phase three concentrator has already produced over 11,000 tons of copper concentrate, with the first sale occurring in July. In that same month, Kamoa-Kakula recorded its highest monthly output to date, producing 35,941 tons of copper.

The newly operational concentrator is expected to contribute approximately 150,000 tons per year to the mine's total copper output. This addition, combined with the production from phases one and two, raises the mine's capacity from 450,000 to 600,000 tons annually.

Remarkably, the phase three concentrator was completed ahead of schedule at the end of May and is engineered to process 5 million tons of copper ore per year. Looking forward, Ivanhoe Mines’ founder, Robert Friedland, revealed plans for a phase four expansion at Kamoa-Kakula, aiming to further scale production.

In 2023, the Kamoa-Kakula mine produced 393,551 tons of copper concentrate, marking an 18 percent increase from the previous year.