An additional concentrate thickener will help add capacity to Kamoa-Kakula’s concentrator.
(Photo: Ivanhoe Mines)

The Komoa plant floated 34,408 mt of copper, a monthly record, and produced 31,150 mt of filtered copper in concentrate for sale. The floated copper production for the month is equivalent to an annualized production rate of approximately 405,000 mt of copper.

The difference between floated and filtered copper arises because of the current bottleneck in filter capacity as the Phase 1 and 2 milling and flotation circuit continues to exceed design capacity. Floated copper is temporarily stored as a slurry in a fully lined dam, which is estimated to contain approximately 6,500 mt of copper as of the end August, until it can be reclaimed in the concentrate thickener and filter press.

As part of the de-bottlenecking initiatives, a fourth Larox filter press is expected to arrive on site in the coming months for commissioning in January 2023. In the meantime, Kamoa Copper management are working on initiatives to maximize the capacity of the existing three filter presses.

Structural steel and platework erection for the additional concentrate thickener. The debottlenecking program will increase annualized production to approximately 450,000 mt of copper in concentrate by Q2 2023.