Ivanhoe Mines unveils exploration MOU with Zambia
Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. [IVN-TSX, IVPAF-OTC] has announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Government of Zambia that aims to facilitate exploration and development activities in a country that aims to quadruple its annual copper production to achieve 3.0 million tonnes by 2031.
If it succeeds, the achievement could rank Zambia as the second largest copper producer globally, compared with 10th as projected for 2024.
Ivanhoe said the MOU outlines a partnership with the Zambian Ministry of Mines for the sustainable development of Zambia’s world-class mineral resources. In parallel with the signing of the MOU, Ivanhoe has applied for a significant exploration license package with Zambia, with adjudication and award targeted by yea-end.
The MOU includes commitments by the Ministry of Mines to share information, identify prospective land packages, provide access to existing and new geological data collected by the Zambian Government (including the recently announced 750,000 square kilometre country-wide airborne geophysical survey), provide guidance and support in relation to the application of new licenses, as well as provide a stable and predictable fiscal and regulatory environment.
“Following successful exploration or mining licence applications, Ivanhoe Mines intends to invest in exploration and project development activities following the same model of success that led to the discovery and development of the world-class Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo,’’ Ivanhoe said in a press release.
Ivanhoe shares were virtually unchanged on the news, easing 0.51% or $0.08 to $15.66. The shares currently trade in a 52-week range of $21.32 to $9.89.
“Ivanhoe is just getting started in expanding our global exploration footprint to discover more of the vital green metals that the world so desperately needs for advanced industrialization and electrification,’’ said Ivanhoe founder and Executive Co-Chairman Robert Friedland.
Ivanhoe was in the news recently when it said the phase 3 concentrator at the company’s Kamoa-Kakula Copper mine complex has reached commercial production and is now milling at a name plate processing rate of 5.0 million tonnes annually.
In July, 2024, Kamoa-Kakula’s Phase 1, 2, and 3 concentrators achieved a combined monthly production rate of 36,000 tonnes of copper. Since first production, the Phase 3 concentrator has produced over 11,000 tonnes of copper in concentrate. The engineering team will soon commence study work targeting at increasing the concentrator’s recovery rate to 90%.
The Kamoa-Kakula copper mine is a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines (39.6%), Zijin Mining Group (39.6%), Crystal River Global Ltd., (0.8%) and the Government of the Democratic Republic (20%). It is a very large, near-surface, flat-lying, stratiform copper deposit with adjacent prospective exploration areas within the Central African Copperbelt, approximately 25 kilometres west of the town of Kolwezi, and about 270 kilometres west of the provincial capital of Lubumbashi.