Ivanhoe Mines has completed the construction of its Kipushi 100-140,000 tpa zinc concentrator ahead of schedule, processing first concentrate on 14 June.
Located in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kipushi has been inactive since it first operated 100 years ago and was placed on care and maintenance 31 years ago.
"Returning the historic Kipushi zinc-copper-lead-germanium-gallium mine to production alongside our DRC state-owned joint-venture partner Gécamines marks a century after Kipushi's first operations," Ivanhoe Mines' chairman Robert Friedland said.
"The mine will follow Kamoa-Kakula's example of being a leading employer and social driver for the region where we operate while maintaining Ivanhoe's focus on strong community relations and sustainability," he added.
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Although Ivanhoe has set output at 100,000–140,000t of zinc in concentrate, it will produce 278,000 tpa of zinc from its mine, over first five years, making Kipushi the fourth-largest zinc mine globally.
The new concentrator received its first feed on May 31st with the first concentrate produced June 14th 2024.
Off-take agreements for Kipushi's high-grade zinc concentrate have been signed with CITIC Metal of Hong Kong and Trafigura Asia Trading of Singapore.
CITIC Metal, Trafigura and First Bank DRC of Kinshasa have provided $170 million to finance the facilities of Kipushi, with $50million drawn to date.
KICO (Kipushi Corporation SA) is 68% owned by Kipushi Holding which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ivanhoe mines. The remaining 32% is owned by Gecamines, the state controlled miner. It was announced January this year that Gecamines will acquire an increasing percentage of the share capital and voting rights overtime.
