Name of the Project
Kipushi zinc/copper/lead/germanium mine.

Location
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Project Owner/s
Kipushi Corporation (KICO), a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines (68%) and DRC State-owned mining company Gécamines (32%). Gécamines will acquire an increasing percentage of the share capital and voting rights in KICO over time, subject to completing conditions precedent.

Project Description
Kipushi will be the world’s highest-grade major zinc mine, with average grade of 36.4% zinc over the first five years.

The 2022 feasibility study focuses on the mining of Kipushi’s zinc-rich Big Zinc and Southern Zinc zones.

The feasibility study envisages the restart of underground mining operations, and the construction of a new concentrator facility on surface with a processing capacity of 800 000 t/y of ore, producing on average 240 000 t/y of zinc contained in concentrate over a 14-year mine life.

The project will benefit from significant existing surface and underground infrastructure to allow for substantially lower capital costs than comparable development projects.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
At a long-term zinc price of $1.20/lb, the project has an after-tax net present value, at an 8% real discount rate, of $941-million and an after-tax real internal rate of return of 40.9%, with a payback of 2.3 years.

Capital Expenditure
Preproduction capital costs have been estimated at $382-million.

Planned Start/End Date
The redevelopment of Kipushi is based on a two-year construction timeline. Ivanhoe expects the project to be completed by the third quarter of 2024.

Latest Developments
Ivanhoe Mines announced the completion of construction and the restart of the historic ultra-high-grade Kipushi zinc/copper/lead/germanium mine on July 2, a century after it first operated, and 31 years since it was placed on care and maintenance. First feed of ore into the new concentrator was achieved on May 31, 2024, with first concentrate subsequently produced on June 14, 2024. Ramp-up to steady-state production is expected in the third quarter.

Offtake agreements for Kipushi’s high-grade zinc concentrate have been signed with CITIC Metal of Hong Kong and Trafigura Asia Trading of Singapore. Further offtake agreements are expected to be signed in the coming months. In addition, financing facilities of $170-million provided by CITIC Metal, Trafigura and First Bank DRC of Kinshasa, have been arranged, with $50-million drawn to date.

Basic engineering of a debottlenecking programme is under way, targeting a 20% increase in processing capacity of the newly built Kipushi concentrator. The debottlenecking programme is expected to increase the processing capacity to 960 000 t/y. Since mining started in late 2023, there is enough capacity to increase mining and hoisting rates to support an upsized concentrator. The debottlenecking programme is expected to take about nine months, based on the ready availability of equipment.

As of June 30, 2024, about 336 000 t of ore at an average grade of 23.4% zinc were stored in surface RoM stockpiles adjacent to the Kipushi concentrator. This includes an estimated 150 000 t of “high-grade” ore at an average grade of more than 30% zinc. The stockpiled ore, which contains nearly 80 000 t of zinc, which is currently trading at $3 000/t, is being used for the ongoing hot commissioning and ramp-up of the Kipushi concentrator.

Underground mining rates are expected to significantly increase throughout the second half of the year to match the steady-state processing rate of the Kipushi concentrator. Year-to-date underground mining rates have averaged just over 20 000 t a month, with rates expected to increase to 75 000 t a month, at an average grade of more than 40% zinc, by year-end.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
OreWin; MSA; SRK Consulting (South Africa); and MDM (Technical) Africa, a division of Wood (technical report).

Contact Details for Project Information
Ivanhoe Mines (North America), tel +1 604 688 6630/+27 11 088 4300 (South Africa) or email info@ivanhoemines.com.