A new shaft for Turbine No. 5 is installed inside the turbine hall at the Inga II hydro dam. The refurbishment of
Turbine No. 5 is on schedule for completion in Q4 2024. (Photo: Ivanhoe Mines)

A quarterly mining record of 2.50 million mt of ore was achieved from the Kakula and Kamoa 1 underground mines. Ore from the Kamoa 1 mine is being stockpiled on the surface ahead of the commencement of the adjacent Phase 3 concentrator. The Phase 3 concentrator is tracking ahead of schedule with completion now expected in May. At the end of the quarter, there was 2.05 million mt of stockpiled ore for the Phase 3 concentrator, at an average grade of 3.1% copper.

Production at the complex during Q1 2024, however, was impacted by the instability of the DRC’s southern power grid. Kamoa Copper continues to work closely with the DRC’s state-owned power company, La Société Nationale d’Electricité (SNEL), to find solutions. During Q1 2024, heavier-than-usual rainfall during the wet season further contributed to grid power intermittency. The rainfall led to elevated water levels in the Congo River, causing debris to block the intakes that feed the Inga hydroelectric dam complex.

In December 2023, SNEL and Ivanhoe Mines Energy DRC, a subsidiary of Kamoa Holding Ltd., signed an amendment to the existing financing agreement to fund the identified infrastructure upgrades. The original 2014 financing agreement consisted of a loan of up to $250 million to fund the refurbishment of 78 megawatts (MW) of generation capacity at the Mwadingusha dam and 178 MW of generation capacity from Turbine No. 5 at the Inga II dam. The refurbishment of the Mwadingusha facility was completed in September 2021, and the refurbishment of Turbine No. 5 at Inga II dam is on-schedule to be completed in Q4 2024.

The amendment to the financing agreement expands the loan up to a total of $450 million. The additional $200 million funding is assigned specifically for grid infrastructure upgrades, such as an increase in grid capacity between the Inga II dam and Kolwezi, a new harmonic filter at the Inga Converter Station, as well as a new static compensator at the Kolwezi Converter Station. In addition, various smaller initiatives have been identified like restringing the powerlines for the southern grid. Funding will also be used to install preventative measures to avoid future blockages of the Inga dam intakes. Project delivery expected to be complete by mid-2025.

As a redundancy measure, Kamoa Copper’s engineering team is currently expanding the on-site backup generation capacity to ensure there is full on-site redundancy for the current Phase 1 and 2 operations, as well as future Phase 3 operations. On-site backup-power generation capacity is on schedule to increase, via a phased roll-out, from the current 58 MW to a total of over 200 MW in time for the completion of the Phase 3 smelter in Q4 2024. An additional 20 MW of generation capacity is in the process of being installed and commissioned, with a further 50 MW on schedule to be commissioned from the end of the Q2 2024.

In addition, since mid-March an additional 15 MW of power is being supplied to Kamoa-Kakula from the neighboring Zambian grid. The company is discussing an additional 35 MW of power to be supplied via the Zambian interconnector later in Q2 2024. By the end of 2024, Kamoa-Kakula is targeting up to 100 MW to be supplied via the Zambian interconnector.