Unveiling the ceremonial plaque: (L-R) Jacques Kyabula Katwe, governor, Haut-Katanga Province; Antoinette
N’Samba Kalambayi,
minister of mines of the Democratic Republic of Congo; Adèle Kayinda Mahina, minister of
state and minister of portfolio of the Democratic
Republic of Congo; Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde, prime minister
of the Democratic Republic of Congo; Marna Cloete, president of Ivanhoe
Mines; Louis Watum, general manager
of KICO; Calixte Mukasa, national member of Parliament; and Alphonse Kaputo Kalubi, chairman
of Gécamines
Kipushi Corp. SA (KICO), a joint venture
between Ivanhoe and DRC state-owned
mining company Gécamines, recently
hosted a breaking-ground ceremony to
commemorate the start of construction
of the processing plant at the historic
Kipushi zinc-copper-germanium-silver
mine. In addition, Ivanhoe signed a memorandum
of understanding (MOU) with
the provincial government of Haut-Katanga
to study options for upgrading the
DRC-Zambia border crossing in Kipushi
for commercial imports and exports.
The delegation was presented with
the development plan for returning the
Kipushi mine to production by late 2024
– 100 years since it was first opened
and 30 years since it was placed on care
and maintenance.
The ceremony follows the outstanding
results of the Kipushi 2022 feasibility
study, Ivanhoe said, which evaluates the
development of an 800,000 mt/y concentrator
and underground mine, producing
on average of 240,000 mt/y of
zinc contained in concentrate over a 14-
year life of mine. The successful commencement
of commercial production
would establish Kipushi as the world’s
highest-grade major zinc mine, with an
average head grade of 36.4% zinc over
the first five years of production.
Existing, rehabilitated surface and underground
infrastructure allow for significantly
lower capital costs than comparable
development projects. The estimated
pre-production capital cost is $382 million.
This infrastructure also allows for a
relatively short construction timeline of
two years, with the principal development
activities being the construction of a conventional
concentrator facility and supporting
infrastructure, together with the
restart of mining activities underground.
Ordering of long-lead equipment is underway
and early construction activities
have commenced. Financing and offtake
discussions, including a pre-payment facility
of $250 million, are well advanced
with several interested parties.
Before Kipushi was idled in 1993, Gécamines
discovered the Big Zinc deposit
at a depth of approximately 1,250 m below
surface and adjacent to the producing
Fault Zone. The Big Zinc The deposit has
not been mined.
Since acquiring its interest in the Kipushi
mine in 2011, Ivanhoe’s drilling
campaigns have upgraded and expanded
the mine’s zinc-rich measured and
indicated mineral resources by more
than double to an estimated 11.78 million
mt grading 35.34% zinc, 0.80%
copper, 23 grams/mt (g/mt) silver and
64 g/mt germanium, at a 7% zinc cutoff,
containing 9.2 billion lb of zinc,
8.7 million oz of silver and 24.4 million
oz of germanium.
The Kipushi mine, once in operation,
will be powered by hydroelectric power
and is set to be one of the world’s lowest
Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emitters
per mt of zinc metal produced.
As featured in Womp 2022 Vol 10 - www.womp-int.com