TSX-listed Ivanhoe Mines’ Kamoa-Kakula copper complex, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is set to report record production for April, achieving about 50 000 t of copper in concentrate, equivalent to an annualised rate of over 600 000 t.

Describing this as a “remarkable achievement”, founder and co-chairperson Robert Friedland says this will provide the basis from which to continue the company’s growth in 2026, including its optimisation projects such as Project 95, even before the Phase 4 expansion.

This comes after the company reported, in its first-quarter financial results, that the copper production rate on an annualised basis increased to an average of 614 000 t of copper since March 18, with daily records reaching as high as 700 000 t of copper annualised.

"Ivanhoe Mines is proud to report strong financial and operational performance in the first quarter of 2025, reflecting the significant efforts of our team and the broad shoulders of the world-class Kamoa-Kakula copper complex,” say Friedland.

Ivanhoe has reported that Kamoa-Kakula produced a near-record 133 120 t of copper during the first quarter. This compares with the quarterly record of 133 819 t of copper produced in the fourth quarter of 2024 and 86 117 t of copper in the first quarter of 2024.

Ivanhoe recorded a profit of $122-million during the quarter, equivalent to a basic profit of $0.10 a share, up from $88-million in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Profit included Ivanhoe Mines’ share of profit and finance income from the Kamoa-Kakula joint venture of $142-million, up from $127.3-million in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Ivanhoe Mines’ adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) for the quarter was a record $226-million, up from $136-million in the fourth quarter of 2024, which includes an attributable share of Ebitda from Kamoa-Kakula of $231-million.

Kamoa-Kakula recognised record revenue of $973-million, operating profit of $471-million, and Ebitda of $585-million for the quarter, equivalent to a margin of 60%.

Kamoa-Kakula’s first-quarter record Ebitda of $585-million, compares with $431-million in the fourth quarter of 2024 and benefits in part from a positive remeasurement of contract receivables of $51-million owing to a rise in the copper price during the quarter.

Ivanhoe notes that Kamoa-Kakula sold 109 963 t of copper – net of payability – during the first quarter at an average realised copper price of $4.19/lb, compared with 112 881 t in the fourth quarter of 2024 at an average realised copper price of $4.08/lb.

Sales continued to lag production owing to a build-up of inventory for the commissioning of the smelter next month. At the end of the first quarter, there were about 48 000 t of unsold copper in inventory, up from about 30 000 t at the end of 2024.

Kamoa-Kakula’s cost of sales per pound of payable copper sold was $1.87/lb for the first quarter compared with $1.94/lb in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Cash cost (C1) per pound of payable copper produced in the quarter averaged $1.69/lb, compared with $1.75/lb in the fourth quarter of 2024 - a reduction was achieved despite an increase in energy costs resulting from backup generator usage.

Kamoa-Kakula maintains its 2025 C1 guidance of $1.65/lb to $1.85/lb of payable copper produced, with first-quarter cash cost at the lower end of the range.

Ivanhoe notes that Kamoa-Kakula’s Phase 1, 2, and 3 concentrators achieved a combined milling record of about 3.7-million tonnes of ore during the first quarter, at an average record recovery rate of 87.4%.

The outperformance was underpinned by the Phase 3 concentrator averaging throughput 20% above its design capacity, equivalent to an annualised milling rate of 6-million tonnes a year.

The Phase 1 and 2 concentrators milled 2.2-million tonnes of ore during the first quarter at an average grade of 5.01%, despite shutdowns for plant maintenance in March. The Phase 3 concentrator milled 1.5-million tonnes of ore at an average grade of 2.76%.

Ivanoe maintains Kamoa-Kakula’s 2025 full-year production guidance at 520 000 t to 580 000 t of copper in concentrate.

Annualised copper production at Kamoa- Kakula is targeting about 600 000 t of copper in concentrate from 2026, following the completion of power initiatives currently underway, as well as the optimisation projects for improved Phase 1 and 2 recoveries and increased Phase 3 throughput.

Ivanhoe says construction of Kamoa-Kakula's 500 000 t/y on-site, direct-to-blister copper smelter, the largest in Africa, is now complete with the smelter undergoing commissioning.

Startup of the smelter is expected to begin in May, with first copper anode production expected in July. Offtake agreements with local buyers for the by-product, high-strength sulphuric acid are well advanced.

“The startup of Africa’s largest and greenest direct-to-blister smelter is just a few weeks away, which transforms Kamoa-Kakula into a fully integrated, low-cost, multi-generational supermajor copper complex.

“First production of 99%+ pure copper anodes is expected in July. This milestone will lower transportation costs by more than 50% per unit of contained copper while enabling us to sell by-product sulphuric acid locally to meet rising demand in the DRC’s copper industry,” says Friedland.

The company notes that the “Project 95” initiative on Kamoa-Kakula’s Phase 1 and 2 concentrators is advancing on schedule for completion in the first quarter of 2026.

The increase in concentrator recoveries to 95% is expected to increase annualised copper production by up to 30 000 t, with an industry-leading capital intensity of $6 000/t of copper.

Kamoa-Kakula’s 2025 Integrated Development Plan, covering all the planned growth initiatives of the copper complex, is advancing well for completion by mid-year, says Ivanhoe.

KIPUSHI

Meanwhile, the Kipushi zinc/copper/lead/germanium mine, also in the DRC, sold 30 108 t of zinc – net of standard 85% payability for zinc concentrate – during the quarter, which was up from the 16 999 t of zinc sold in the fourth quarter of 2024 and still affected by ramp-up, recognising revenue of $77-million and quarterly segmented Ebitda of $11-million.

Kipushi’s cost of sales per pound of payable zinc sold was $1.23/lb and C1 per pound of payable zinc sold totalled $0.93/lb. Ivanhoe Mines maintains Kipushi’s 2025 C1 guidance of $0.90/lb to $1/lb of payable zinc.

Ivanhoe says its cash and cash equivalents on hand as at March 31 was $717-million.

In the first quarter, the Kipushi concentrator milled a record 151 403 t of ore at a record average grade of 32.5% zinc, producing a record 42 736 t of zinc in concentrate at a contained grade of over 53% zinc.

Ivanhoe says the ramp-up to steady state of the ultrahigh-grade Kipushi zinc mine is progressing well into the second quarter.

The Kipushi debottlenecking programme is 66% complete and advancing on schedule for completion late in the third quarter.

The debottlenecking programme is targeting a 20% increase in the Kipushi concentrator’s processing capacity, up to 960 000 t/y of ore.

The company says Kipushi’s 2025 production guidance is maintained at 180 000 t to 240 000 t of zinc in concentrate. Kipushi is targeting a production rate of over 250 000 t of zinc in concentrate for 2026, following the completion of ramp-up and debottlenecking activities.

Friedland notes that exploration continues to play an important role in Ivanhoe’s future growth.

He says the company is making significant progress on the Western Forelands licences and will release an interim mineral resource update by mid-May.

Friedland expresses that this update will highlight the “immense potential” of this highly prospective region adjacent to Kamoa-Kakula.

"We have also recently expanded our exploration efforts into Zambia – a country with tremendous geological prospectivity outside of the known Copperbelt region. The government of Zambia is also a critical partner in addressing long-term energy in the Southern African region.

“Finally, we praise the leadership of the governments of the United States and Qatar for bringing together the governments of the DRC and Rwanda to agree on principles of peace and prosperity, opening the way for increased investment and the responsible development of DRC’s huge critical minerals endowment that will be required to meet the rising global demand for these essential metals,” Friedland says.