TSX-listed Ivanhoe Mines’ Kamoa-Kakula copper complex, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), produced a record 116 313 t of copper in concentrate during the third quarter, while the ultrahigh-grade Kipushi zinc mine, also in the DRC, produced 17 817 t of zinc in concentrate.

For the year-to-date, Kamoa-Kakula has produced 303 328 t of copper in concentrate.

Moreover, Kamoa-Kakula produced 40 025 t of copper during September, achieving a record daily production rate of 1 334 t/d over the 30-day month.

The average daily production rate increased further during the final week of September to 1 460 t/d copper.

Kamoa-Kakula’s Phase 1 and 2 concentrators milled about 2.2-million tonnes of ore during the third quarter at an average feed grade of 4.9% copper.

Quarterly copper production from the Phase 1 and 2 concentrators was 94 214 t, at an average recovery rate of 86.6%.

Kamoa-Kakula’s Phase 3 concentrator, which produced first concentrate on June 10, milled about 1.1-million tonnes of ore during the third quarter at an average feed grade of 2.6% copper.

The feed to the concentrator during the quarter was predominantly from historical surface stockpiles.

The Phase 3 concentrator, which achieved commercial production during the quarter, produced 22 099 t of copper in concentrate at a recovery rate of 79.9%, reflecting the ongoing ramp-up.

Following the commissioning of the Phase 3 concentrator’s fine-grinding mills in early September, sustained improvements in processing throughput and recovery rates were achieved.

During the last week of September, the concentrator milled 117 484 t, which is equivalent to an annualised processing rate of over 5.5-million tonnes yearly, after accounting for availability.

Moreover, over the same period, the copper recovery rate of the concentrator increased to an average of 84%.

Kamoa’s operations team expects to reach the nameplate recovery rate of 86% during the fourth quarter, thereby achieving steady-state production.

The team is also targeting to increase the feed grade to the Phase 3 concentrator up to about 3% by the first quarter of 2025, while ore reserves continue to be developed towards the higher-grade zones in the Kamoa 1 and Kamoa 2 underground mines.

At quarter end, total on-site backup power generation capacity is 135 MW, following the installation and commissioning of an additional 72 MW of generators during the quarter.

The on-site backup power capacity is sufficient to power Kamoa-Kakula’s Phase 1 and 2 concentrators at full capacity in the event of intermittent power.

Kamoa’s project team remains on schedule to have 201 MW of installed on-site backup power generation capacity by year-end.

Also, imported power from the Southern African Power Pool, via the Zambian interconnector, stands at 65 MW at quarter-end. Negotiations are underway to increase imported power to over 100 MW by the end of the year.

Kamoa-Kakula full-year guidance has been revised down, from 440 000 t to 490 000 t contained copper in concentrate, to 425 000 t to 450 000 t of contained copper in concentrate.

The revised guidance reflects production lost owing to intermittent grid power, in particular prior to the installation of additional on-site generator capacity and agreements in place to import power to support power consumption from the DRC grid; and also considers the commissioning of the Phase 3 concentrator.