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Ivanhoe Mines (TSX:IVN) provides 2022 guidance for Kamoa-Kakula

Market News, Mining
TSX:IVN
10 January 2022 10:00 (EDT)

Source: Ivanhoe Mines

Ivanhoe Mines (IVN) has announced its 2022 annual production guidance for the Kamoa-Kakula copper complex.

Kamoa Copper produced 105,884 tonnes of copper in concentrate in 2021, exceeding the upper end of the guidance range as operation ramped up at the Phase 1 concentrator plant.

In December alone, Kamoa Copper milled a record 372,000 tonnes of ore at an average feed grade of 5.98 per cent copper, exceeding the monthly design run rate by more than 17 per cent.

With the Phase 2 expansion nearly complete, Kamoa Copper has set its production guidance for 2022 to between 290,000 and 340,000 tonnes of copper in concentrate.

The guidance range for cash costs (C1) per pound of payable copper in 2022 is between $1.20 and $1.40 per pound of payable copper.

Kamoa Copper expects to begin operations at the Phase 2 concentrator plant in Q2 2022. The Phase 2 concentrator plant is identical to the Phase 1 concentrator, with a nameplate milling capacity of 3.8 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa).

The Phase 3 expansion also is advancing, and an updated pre-feasibility study (PFS), including the Phase 3 expansion, is expected in Q3 2022.

Robert Friedland, executive co-chair of Ivanhoe Mines, commented on the upcoming year’s production guidance.

“The Phase 2 expansion remains significantly ahead of schedule,” he remarked, “and we are well on the way to doubling our annualized copper production to more than 400,000 tonnes starting early in Q2 2022, vaulting Kamoa Copper into the ranks of the world’s ten largest copper mines.”

Ivanhoe Mines is a Canadian mining company focused on advancing its three principal projects in Southern Africa.

The Kamoa-Kakula Copper Project is a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines, Zijin Mining Group, Crystal River Global Limited, and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Shares in Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (IVN) are up 3.55 per cent, trading at $11.07 per share as of 9:44 am EST.

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