The Kamoa-Kakula copper complex in the DRC produced 40,347 tonnes of concentrate in August 2024, a record. Kamoa-Kakula is operated by Ivanhoe Mines, a Canadian company.

The record performance is partly due to the commissioning of a third concentrator. However, the previously running plants also recorded strong results.  “On August 31, the combined output from the Phase 1, 2, and 3 concentrators reached a daily record of 2,096 tonnes of copper. This included 1,760 tonnes from the Phase 1 and 2 concentrators, which also set a record for the company,” Ivanhoe Mines wrote in a statement dated September 4.

Ivanhoe added that Kamoa-Kakula produced around 263,000 tonnes of copper, including 14,000 tonnes from the new third plant, since the beginning of 2024. This is against 393,551 tonnes of copper concentrate throughout the past year, thus 18% up.

The Canadian firm expects Kamoa-Kakula to produce between 440,000 and 490,000 tonnes of copper concentrate this year. 

Once the project’s third plant is fully operational, Ivanhoe and its partners expect this output to reach 600,000 tonnes per year, making Kamoa-Kakula the third-largest copper mine in the world.

LNK