Canadian mining company
Ivanhoe Mines is a Canadian mining company focused on advancing its three principal projects in Southern Africa: the development of new mines at the Kamoa-Kakula copper discoveries in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Platreef palladium-platinum-nickel-copper-rhodium-gold discovery in South Africa, and the extensive redevelopment and upgrading of the historic Kipushi zinc-copper-germanium-silver mine, also in the DRC. Ivanhoe also is exploring for new copper discoveries on its wholly owned Western Foreland exploration licences in the DRC, near the Kamoa-Kakula Project.
History
In October 2012, the company held an IPO on the Toronto Stock Exchange, raising $300 million, and valuing the company at $2.5 billion.[1] In August 2013 the company changed its name to Ivanhoe Mines, taking advantage of Friedland's right to that name.[2]
In 2015, Ivanhoe sold half of its interest in the Kamoa copper project to Zijin Mining Group, a Chinese mining company, for US$412 million.[3]
In April 2017 Ivanhoe announced it had confirmed the new Kakula West discovery in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Reported assays returned 8.86 metres grading 5.83% copper that included a higher grade intercept of 6.17 metres grading 6.84% copper. The discovery extended the Kakula along a confirmed strike length of 6.8 kilometres.[4]
In January 2019, Ivanhoe Mines reported an unprecedented 22.3-metre intersection of 13.05% copper in a shallow, flat-lying discovery at the Kamoa North Bonanza Zone on the Kamoa-Kakula mining licence. Drill hole DD1450 intersection included grades of up to 40% copper and is within 190 metres of surface.[5] In February 2020, the initial mineral resource estimate for the Kamoa North Bonanza Zone included 1.5 million tonnes of Indicated Resources grading 10.7% copper, at a 5% cut-off.[6]
In February 2020, Ivanhoe released an independently verified, updated Mineral Resource estimate for the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Kamoa-Kakula Project Indicated Mineral Resource now stands at 1.4 billion tonnes grading 2.7% copper, at a 1% cut-off grade, and the project's Indicated Mineral Resource now stands at 423 million tonnes grading 4.68% copper, at a 3% cut-off grade.[7]
International mining consultant Wood Mackenzie has ranked the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Project as the world's fourth-largest copper discovery, with copper grades that are the highest by a wide margin of the world's top 10 copper deposits.[6]
Construction of the Kakula Mine, the first of multiple, planned mining areas at Kamoa-Kakula, is making excellent progress. Initial copper concentrate production from the Kakula Mine is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2021.[8]
Operations
Ivanhoe has three projects:
- The Kamoa-Kakula copper project, located near Kolwezi in the DRC. An independent preliminary economic assessment (PEA) issued in February 2019 indicates that Kamoa-Kakula has a potential production rate of at least 18 Mtpa. Once this expanded rate is achieved, Kamoa-Kakula is projected to become the world's second largest copper mine, with peak annual production of more than 700,000 tonnes of copper.[9]
- Ivanhoe Mines owns 68% of Kipushi Mine, while state-owned Gécamines owns 32%.[10] The zinc mine is located near the city of Kipushi in the DRC's Haut-Katanga province. Kipushi has an estimated 10.2 million tonnes of measured and indicated Mineral Resources grading 34.9% zinc.[11]
- The Platreef Project, a platinum mine in Limpopo province, South Africa. Platreef is expected to eventually be one of the world's largest platinum mines.[12]
