Kipushi mine rehabilitation and redevelopment project, Democratic Republic of Congo
Name and Location
Kipushi mine rehabilitation and redevelopment project, Katanga, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Client
Kipushi Corporation, in which Ivanhoe Mines acquired a 68% share in 2011. The balance of 32% is held by the DRC's State-owned mining company, Gécamines.
Project Description
The Kipushi project is based on the high-grade, underground zinc/copper mine, in the Central African Copperbelt, which mined an estimated 60-million tonnes grading 11% zinc and 7% copper between 1924 and 1993. In addition to producing copper and zinc, the mine produced 12 673 t of lead and about 278 t of germanium from 1956 to 1978. The mine has been on care and maintenance since 1993. The mine was flooded in early 2011, owing to a lack of pump maintenance over an extended period.
Ivanhoe has been dewatering the Kipushi mine since 2011 to access the workings for exploration purposes and to rehabilitate infrastructure on the mine. A drilling programme is under way to confirm the scale and quality of the historically defined Big Zinc deposit and high-grade copper along the Serie Recurrent, and Nord Riche (Northern Rich) areas of the Kipushi fault. To date, there has been excellent progress. The exploration programme has yielded many confirmatory and new high-grade intercepts of zinc, copper and other metals such as silver, germanium and lead.
Gécamines discovered the Big Zinc deposit before 1993 and it remains unmined. Historical estimates of the Big Zinc's resources between the mine's 1 295-m- and 1 500-m-levels total 4.7-million tonnes averaging 39% zinc and 0.76% copper.
Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.
Value
The value of the project is still to be determined.
Duration
The timeframe for the project is still to be determined.
Latest Developments
Six drill holes were completed at Kipushi in the third quarter ended September 30, taking the metres of drilling executed since the start of the programme in March 2014 to 24 035 m.
Ivanhoe is finalising an updated mineral resource estimate for the project that will incorporate all the drill results received to date. The independent estimate is expected to be completed and issued during the fourth quarter, after which a preliminary economic assessment will be undertaken based on the updated resource estimate.
Key Contracts and Suppliers
MSA Group (resource model).
On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.
Contact Details for Project Information
Ivanplats investor relations Bill Trenaman, tel +1 604 688 6630 or email billtr@ivancorp.net.
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