The de-bottlenecking challenge has an estimated price of roughly $50 million and is predicted to take about 12 months to finish.
“Kamoa-Kakula is blessed with an unbelievable endowment of high-grade copper assets. On condition that our underground mine growth and ore manufacturing are each progressing properly forward of schedule, the plant growth will enable the operations staff to course of considerably extra high-grade copper ore straight from the Kakula mine within the years forward,” Mark Farren, CEO of Ivanhoe’s Kamoa Copper unit, mentioned in a press launch.
“Our orebody has an enormous benefit in permitting us to adapt our mining cut-off to mine bigger tonnages very effectively, whereas sustaining grades above a desired stage. The growth additionally offers the staff with the pliability to make the most of our floor stockpiles, for which the mining is already paid for, that totalled greater than 4.4 million tonnes grading 4.61% copper on the finish of January,” Farren added.
In the meantime, Ivanhoe has additionally confirmed that development of Kamoa-Kakula’s Part 2, 3.8 million t/y concentrator plant is sort of full, with early-stage commissioning actions now underway. Sizzling commissioning of the concentrator with first ore and preliminary copper focus manufacturing are each on observe for April 2022.
Engineering and early works for the Part 3 growth, together with a brand new field lower and twin declines to entry new mining areas, can be progressing shortly. A 3rd, considerably bigger concentrator is being designed and is predicted to commissioned within the fourth quarter of 2024.
An up to date pre-feasibility examine, together with the Part 3 growth, is predicted within the third quarter of 2022. Additionally underway are early works on a direct-to-blister flash smelter at Kamoa-Kakula that can incorporate expertise provided by Metso Outotec of Finland, and have a nameplate capability of 500,000 t/y of roughly 99%-pure blister copper.
The Part 1 concentrator is presently working at a throughput that’s in extra of its 3.8 million t/y design capability by greater than 22%, with 112% of design throughput achieved in January. Copper recoveries of above 87% are also persistently being achieved which might be in extra of design restoration of 85.6%.
Nevertheless, regardless of the Part 1 concentrator incurring important downtime for important tie ins and modifications required for the commissioning of the Part 2 concentrator, the copper in focus produced in January nonetheless totalled 18,824 tonnes ─ virtually the identical as December’s report of 18,853 tonnes.
“After efficiently working the Part 1 concentrator for greater than eight months, we’ve recognized plenty of comparatively minor modifications to the concentrator that ought to enhance ore throughput from the present design of 475 t/h to 580 t/h,” Steve Amos, Ivanhoe Mines’ head of tasks, DRC, defined.
In accordance with Amos, modifications made by means of the de-bottlenecking initiative “will enable the staff to persistently function the concentrator plant on the elevated throughput with out compromising plant availability, copper restoration or copper focus grade.”
Final 12 months, the Kamoa-Kakula challenge outputted greater than 100,000 tonnes of copper focus, exceeding the higher finish of Ivanhoe’s annual manufacturing steerage. This 12 months, the corporate has set its steerage at between 290,000 and 340,000 tonnes.
(This text first appeared within the Canadian Mining Journal)
