Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN) announced on Wednesday that in the first quarter, the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) produced 86,203 tonnes of copper in concentrate.

The miner maintained its 2024 full-year production guidance for Kamoa-Kakula between 440,000 t and 490,000 t of copper in concentrate.

Kamoa-Kakula’s Phase 1 and 2 concentrators processed about 2.06-million tonnes of ore during the first quarter, with an average feed grade of 4.8% copper. The copper flotation recoveries for the quarter averaged 87.4%, surpassing the Phase 1 and 2 concentrator design recovery rate of 86%.

The Phase 3 concentrator, ahead of schedule, is expected to be completed next month. By the end of the quarter, there were 2.05-million tonnes of stockpiled ore for the Phase 3 concentrator, with an average grade of 3.1% copper.

The company stated that Kamoa Copper is actively working with the Democratic Republic of Congo’s State-owned power company, La Société Nationale d’Electricité (SNEL), to tackle the underlying issues causing instability in the southern DRC’s grid infrastructure since late 2022.

Additionally, the first quarter’s wet season brought heavier-than-usual rainfall, exacerbating grid power intermittency.

Shares of Ivanhoe Mines were up by 1.9% by 12:30 p.m. EDT on the back of the news release. The Vancouver-based copper miner has a market capitalization of C$21 billion ($15.5bn).

Source: MINING.COM – Read More