Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN, US-OTC: IVPAF) announced on Tuesday that the first ore was fed into the Phase 3 concentrator at the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The first ore marks the completion of the concentrator’s construction, which has been achieved months ahead of schedule and also on budget, Ivanhoe said.
The first concentrate is expected in early June, while ramp-up to commercial production is targeted for early in the third quarter.
“Given the outperformance of Kamoa-Kakula’s operations to date, including higher than expected throughput and recoveries at the Phase 1 and Phase 2 concentrators, we are now studying options to boost copper production towards our next goal of 800,000 tonnes per annum … a production rate that would propel the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex towards being one of the two largest copper producers on our planet,” Ivanhoe Mines’ founder and executive co-chair Robert Friedland said.
“We are now also studying options to accelerate the Phase 4 expansion at Kamoa-Kakula to target a throughput rate of at least 20 million tonnes annually,”
Shares of Ivanhoe Mines were up by 4.4% to $20.59 apiece on Tuesday afternoon, valuing the company at $26 billion. Its shares traded in a 52-week range of $9.89 and $21.32.
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