Construction of the Phase 2 concentrator plant at the Kamoa-Kakula copper project in the Democratic Republic of Congo is ahead of schedule with project officials anticipating a Q2 2022 start up.
The 3.8 million-tonne-per-annum (Mtpa) concentrator plant is a carbon copy of the Phase 1 concentrator plant, and is being constructed alongside it. All long-lead items of equipment, structural steel, platework and mechanical equipment for the Phase 2 plant are already delivered or en-route to the site. As of the end of last month, the plant was more than 50% complete.
In September, the Phase 1 concentrator plant “exceeded steady-state design parameters for ore throughput and were close to achieving steady-state design copper recovery and monthly copper production,” said Kamoa Copper’s CEO Mark Farren. More than 16,000 tonnes of copper concentrate were produced and a total of 16,503 tonnes floated during the month.
The second concentrate filter press began operations on Oct. 3, which will enable the Phase 1 plant to produce more copper concentrate than the estimated design output of 200,000 tonnes per year. Kamoa Copper Head of Projects Steve Amos noted that a third filter press, scheduled to be installed as part of the Phase 2 concentrator expansion, “will allow Kamoa-Kakula’s operations team to find the ‘sweet spot’ between copper recoveries and concentrate copper grades.”
The Kamoa-Kakula copper project is jointly owned by Ivanhoe Mines (39.6%), Zijin Mining Group (39.6%), Crystal River Global Ltd (0.8%) and the Government of the DRC (20%).
Sources: Ivanhoe Mines and Kamoa Copper