Published: July 9, 2024 |

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Ivano Manini, GM, KICO; Olivier Binyingo, Executive VP, Chairman, DRC, Ivanhoe Mines; Gaetan Luabeya, Deputy GM, KICO
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Workers gather around the concentrator’s ball mill to celebrate the restart of the Kipushi mine
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Ivanhoe Mines said its had completed construction and restarted the historic ultra-high-grade Kipushi zinc-copper-lead-germanium mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), 100 years 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.

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

Kipushi Corporation (KICO) is 68 percent owned by Kipushi Holding, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ivanhoe Mines, with the remaining 32 percent of KICO owned by Gécamines.

“Returning the historic Kipushi zinc-copper-lead-germanium-gallium mine to production alongside our DRC state-owned joint-venture partner Gécamines marks a century after Kipushi’s first operations. The rebirth of the mine is a major and state-of-the-art achievement for our operations team, the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the local community in Kipushi Town. We commend and congratulate everyone involved, especially the hardworking Congolese workforce, for their exceptional contributions towards this example of industry-leading execution … with the construction and first concentrate milestones delivered substantially ahead of schedule. Kipushi will be one of the world’s leading producers of high-grade, low-emissions zinc and associated metals. The mine will follow Kamoa-Kakula’s example of being a leading employer and social driver for the region where we operate while maintaining Ivanhoe’s focus on strong community relations and sustainability,” said Ivanhoe Mines’ Founder and Executive Co-Chairman Robert Friedland.

“The Kipushi mine is a significant example of the growing importance of the Democratic Republic of the Congo as a provider of high-quality, vital strategic minerals for global markets. The mine also demonstrates the tier-one quality of the ore body and workforce that make the Central African Copperbelt the best place on our planet to build world-leading mining operations. We are very proud to witness the rebirth of this legendary mining operation for the first time in three decades. Kipushi joins Kamoa-Kakula as a major addition to Ivanhoe’s rapidly growing green metals business. We celebrate this significant step on our aggressive journey to become the world’s next great, diversified major mining company,” added Friedland.

“The resumption of operations at the Kipushi Mine, after more than three decades of inactivity, is a source of great pride for Gécamines and of renewed joy among the Province of Haut-Katanga’s population. This outcome is yet another indication of Gécamines’ efforts for the revival of mining activity and community development in Haut-Katanga,” said Gécamines’ Chairman, Guy-Robert Lukama Nkunzi.

“It is not only high zinc grades that make Kipushi an extraordinary mine. Whilst at this stage only the big zinc deposit has been certified, the mine shows great potential for other metals that are critical to meet today’s global industrial needs. Through the renewed KICO project, achieved in cooperation with our partner Ivanhoe Mines, whose unwavering commitment and expert skills led to the site’s revival, Gécamines will be in a position to play a greater role than in the past,” added Nkunzi.

“Concurrently with the mine’s reconstruction, our partnership has been significantly restructured in terms of the project’s governance. As a result, Gécamines’ shareholding in the project has been reinforced, which gives us increased power to influence key decisions, the possibility of acquiring KICO’s products to ensure local processing and, above all, the prospect of becoming a majority shareholder again after the big zinc is depleted,” concluded Nkunzi.

Ivanhoe Mines has recently established a wholly-owned subsidiary, Ivanhoe Marketing Ltd., to manage the in-land logistics across the African continent. Ivanhoe Marketing will be responsible for arranging the transportation of zinc concentrate from mine gate to the point of delivery. Initially, it is expected that approximately 50 percent of Kipushi’s concentrate will be delivered to Europe for smelting on a cost, insurance and freight (CIF) basis, exported via the port of Walvis Bay. The remaining 50 percent will be a delivered at place (DAP) to the port of Durban.

Ivanhoe Marketing has entered into off-take agreements with CITIC and Trafigura for the sale of Kipushi concentrate. To date, off-take agreements for approximately two-thirds of Kipushi’s zinc concentrates over a five-year term have been agreed.

During the 3.3 million man-hours worked on the construction of the Kipushi concentrator, not a single lost time injury (LTI) was recorded. Therefore, the lost time injury frequency rate (LTIFR) for the concentrator during construction was zero. The recently completed phase 3 concentrator at Kamoa-Kakula also completed construction with an LTIFR of zero, a rare industry achievement.

Ivanhoe Mines is a Canadian mining company focused on advancing its three principal projects in Southern Africa; the expansion of the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the DRC, the construction of the tier-one Platreef palladium-rhodium-platinum-nickel-copper-gold project in South Africa; and the restart of the historic ultra-high-grade Kipushi zinc-copper-germanium-silver mine, also in the DRC. Ivanhoe Mines is also exploring for new copper discoveries across its 80-100 percent owned exploration licenses in the Western Foreland, which are located adjacent to, or in close proximity to, the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the DRC.

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