Published on 05/26/2025 at 14:05
Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. provided an operational update on the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, following the temporary suspension of operations at the Kakula underground mine, as first announced by the company on May 20, 2025. Senior management and a world-class team of geotechnical experts continue to conduct a thorough investigation of the mine to understand the cause and effect of the seismic activity.
Seismic activity at the Kakula underground mine has continued to occur intermittently over the past few days. Given the recent seismic activity, underground activities were suspended again on Saturday, May 25, 2025, with
employees safely brought above ground and mobile equipment removed from the mine workings. The safety of employees and contractors remains paramount, and zero lost time injuries have been reported. Preliminary indications are that seismic activity at the Kakula underground could potentially continue for weeks, which would inhibit access to the mine and prolong the temporary suspension of operations at Kakula. As a result of the impact on underground pumping and electrical infrastructure, to date, there has been an increase in water inflow levels into the Kakula underground mine. Kamoa Copper, with support from Ivanhoe and Zijin Mining, is currently preparing detailed dewatering plans, including the acquisition of additional pumping equipment to increase pumping capacity and allow for dewatering from surface. Ivanhoe would like to thank its Chinese partners Zijin and CITIC Metal for their assistance in procuring additional equipment for the dewatering efforts. As underground areas are deemed safe for crews to return, the initial focus will be to inspect, repair, and restart pump stations and associated piping, as well as
electrical substations and associated cabling. Remediation work continues in the shallower western sections of the Kakula Mine, where current dewatering rates are approximately 1,000 litres per second (L/s). Kamoa Copper’s engineering team is focused on restoring underground pumping capacity to over 3,000 L/s, which is deemed sufficient to stabilize water levels. In parallel, the management team intends to install at all of mines high-capacity pumping systems that can operate from surface as permanent infrastructure. Surface infrastructure at Kakula, including the Phase 1 and 2 concentrators and direct-to-blister smelter, remains completely unaffected. The Phase 1 and 2 concentrators are currently processing ore from surface stockpiles. Mining activities at the Kamoa underground mine and processing at the adjacent Phase 3 concentrator continue to operate normally. Kamoa-Kakula’s 2025 production and cost guidance, along with the ramp-up schedule for the direct-to-blister smelter, have been withdrawn pending review. Ivanhoe will provide further updates as more information is available. Ivanhoe and Zijin continue to work collaboratively under a strong partnership at the joint-venture level and are committed to returning Kakula back to production as soon as safely possible.
