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DRC
Kipushi Project

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 Location:
27 km W from Lubumbashi, DRC

  Project Contacts:
82 on Maude, Second Floor 82 Maude Street Sandton
Johannesburg
South Africa
2146
Phone  ...  Subscription required
Fax27 11 883 5226
WebsiteWeb
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  • Overview
  • Owners
  • Geology
  • Mining
  • Processing
  • Production
  • Reserves
  • Costs & Financials
  • Personnel
  • Filings & News

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Overview

StagePermitting
Mine TypeUnderground
Commodities
  • Zinc
  • Copper
  • Lead
  • Silver
  • Cobalt
Mining Method
  • Pillar mining
  • Cut & Fill
  • Sub-level stoping
Processing
  • Dense media separation
Mine Life10 years (as of Jan 1, 2016)
Latest NewsIvanhoe Mines files an updated NI 43-101 technical report for the Kipushi Zinc-Copper Project     March 29, 2019


Owners

Source:
CompanyInterestOwnership
Gécamines S.A 32 % Indirect
Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. 68 % Indirect
Ivanhoe Mines acquired its 68% interest in the
Kipushi Project in November 2011; the balance of 32% is held by the DRC’s state-owned mining company, Gécamines.

Deposit Type

  • Carbonate hosted


Summary:

Kipushi is located within the Central African Copperbelt which constitutes a metallogenic province that hosts numerous world-class copper-cobalt deposits both in the DRC and Zambia. The Central African Copperbelt lies within the Lufilian Arc, which comprises a 5?10 km thick sequence of metasedimentary rocks forming the Katanga Supergroup. These rocks were incorporated into a thin-skinned fold and thrust belt which resulted from the convergence of the Congo and Kalahari cratons. In the DRC, the Katangan Supergroup is defined by the Roan, Nguba and Kundulungu Groups.

The Kipushi Zn-Cu Project is located within Nguba Group rocks on the northern limb of the regional west?north?west trending Kipushi Anticline which straddles the border between Zambia and the DRC. The mineral deposits at Kipushi are an example of carbonate-hosted copper-zinc-lead mineralization hosted in pipe-like fault breccia zones, as well as tabular zones.

Mineralization is focused at the intersection of the Kakontwe and Katete Formations of the Nguba Group with a north?north?east striking 70° west dipping discontinuity known as the Kipushi Fault, which terminates the northern limb of the anticline. The Kipushi Fault has been interpreted by KICO as a syn sedimentary growth fault which was reactivated during the Lufilian Orogeny. Mineralization occurs in several distinct settings known as the Kipushi Fault Zone (copper, zinc and mixed copper-zinc mineralization both as massive sulphides and as veins), the Copper Nord Riche zone (mainly copper but also mixed copper-zinc mineralization, both massive and vein-style), the Série Récurrente zone (disseminated to veinlet-style copper mineralization), and the Big Zinc zone (massive zinc with local copper mineralization).


Mining Methods

  • Pillar mining
  • Cut & Fill
  • Sub-level stoping


Summary:

The planned mining method is a combination of Sublevel Open Stoping (SLOS), Pillar Retreat, and Cut and Fill methods at a steady-state mining rate of 1.1 Mtpa.

The primary mining method for the Big Zinc zone is expected to be SLOS, with cemented rock backfill. The crown pillars are expected to be mined once adjacent stopes are backfilled using the Pillar Retreat mining method. The Big Zinc zone is expected to be accessed via the existing decline and without significant new development. The main levels are planned to be at 60 m vertical intervals with sublevels at 30 m interval.

The Cut and Fill mining method has been identified to be used to extract the copper zone outside of the Big Zinc zone. In this method, mining occurs in horizontal slices, with the blasted copper material removed from the stopes, then crushed underground and sold at the mine gate.


Crushing and Grinding


Processing

  • Dense media separation

Source: Subscription required

Summary:

The planned process plant is a dense media separation (DMS) plant, which is expected to include crushing, screening, heavy liquid separation (HLS) and spirals to produce a high grade zinc concentrate. DMS is a simple density concentration technique that preliminary testwork has shown yields positive results for the Kipushi material, which has a sufficient density differential between the gangue (predominantly dolomite) and mineralisation (sphalerite). DMS washability profiles were evaluated in the laboratory at three feed crush sizes using a combination of HLS and shaking tables.

Preliminary test work results on three crush sizes indicated that –20 mm crush size resulted in the highest recovery and concentrate grade. This crush size achieved an overall recovery of 95.4% at a concentrate grade of 55.5% Zn.

Recoveries & Grades:

CommodityParameterAvg. LOM
Zinc Recovery Rate, %  ......  Subscription required
Zinc Head Grade, % 32.2
Zinc Concentrate Grade, %  ......  Subscription required
Copper Recovery Rate, %  ......  Subscription required
Copper Head Grade, % 5.41
Copper Concentrate Grade, %  ......  Subscription required
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Projected Production:

CommodityProductUnitsAvg. AnnualLOM
Zinc Metal kt 2812,807
Zinc Concentrate kt 5305,296
Copper Metal kt  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required
Copper Concentrate kt  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required

Operational Metrics:

Metrics2016
Tonnes processed, LOM 9,941 kt

Reserves at June 14, 2018:

CategoryTonnage CommodityGradeContained Metal
Measured 3.65 Mt Zinc 39.87 % 3,211 M lbs
Measured 3.65 Mt Copper 0.65 % 52.3 M lbs
Measured 3.65 Mt Lead 0.35 % 27.8 M lbs
Measured 3.65 Mt Silver 18 g/t 2.06 M oz
Measured 3.65 Mt Cobalt 18 g/t 0.14 M lbs
Indicated 8.13 Mt Zinc 33.3 % 5,966 M lbs
Indicated 8.13 Mt Copper 0.87 % 156.4 M lbs
Indicated 8.13 Mt Lead 1.36 % 244.4 M lbs
Indicated 8.13 Mt Silver 25 g/t 6.59 M oz
Indicated 8.13 Mt Cobalt 11 g/t 0.2 M lbs
Measured & Indicated 11.78 Mt Zinc 35.34 % 9,176 M lbs
Measured & Indicated 11.78 Mt Copper 0.8 % 208.6 M lbs
Measured & Indicated 11.78 Mt Lead 1.05 % 272.2 M lbs
Measured & Indicated 11.78 Mt Silver 23 g/t 8.65 M oz
Measured & Indicated 11.78 Mt Cobalt 13 g/t 0.34 M lbs
Inferred 1.14 Mt Zinc 33.77 % 850.7 M lbs
Inferred 1.14 Mt Copper 1.24 % 31.3 M lbs
Inferred 1.14 Mt Lead 0.24 % 6.2 M lbs
Inferred 1.14 Mt Silver 12 g/t 0.46 M oz
Inferred 1.14 Mt Cobalt 14 g/t 0.04 M lbs

Commodity Production Costs:

CommodityUnits2016
Total cash costs Zinc USD 0.54 / lb
Assumed price Zinc USD 1.01 / lb
Assumed price Copper USD 3 / lb

Operating Costs:

Units2016
Total operating costs ($/t milled) USD 74.8 *
* According to 2016 study.

2016 Study Costs and Valuation Metrics :

MetricsUnitsLOM Total
Pre-Production capital costs $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Closure costs $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Total CapEx $M USD  ......  Subscription required
UG OpEx $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Processing OpEx $M USD 75
Total OpEx $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Total Taxes $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Gross revenue (LOM) $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Net revenue (LOM) $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Pre-tax Cash Flow (LOM) $M USD  ......  Subscription required
After-tax Cash Flow (LOM) $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Pre-tax NPV @ 5% $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Pre-tax NPV @ 10% $M USD  ......  Subscription required
After-tax NPV @ 5% $M USD  ......  Subscription required
After-tax NPV @ 10% $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Pre-tax IRR, %  ......  Subscription required
After-tax IRR, %  ......  Subscription required
Pre-tax payback period, years  ......  Subscription required
After-tax payback period, years  ......  Subscription required
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Heavy Mobile Equipment:

Mine Management:

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jan 26, 2021
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jan 26, 2021
Subscription required - Subscription is required.


Corporate Filings & Presentations:

DocumentYear
................................... Subscription required 2018
Pre-Feasibility Study Report 2017
Preliminary Economic Assessment 2016
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

News:

NewsDate
Ivanhoe Mines files an updated NI 43-101 technical report for the Kipushi Zinc-Copper Project March 29, 2019
Ivanhoe Mines announces a new Mineral Resource estimate for the Kipushi Mine July 30, 2018
Ivanhoe Mines installs new primary crusher at the historic Kipushi zinc-copper-silver-germanium mine in DRC May 29, 2018
Ivanhoe Mines announces a pre-feasibility study for the historic Kipushi zinc-copper-silver-germanium mine in the DRC December 13, 2017

Aerial view:

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