copper
30
08.13
T
he development study, to be prepared in con-
formance with the requirements set out in
Canada’s National Instrument 43-101, is ex-
pected to result in the declaration of the first mineral
reserves at Kamoa and to report on the establishment
of an appropriately phased approach to achieving
first production and progressive expansion of the
Kamoa project.
The project is a very large, stratiform copper depos-
it with adjacent prospective exploration areas and is
located approximately 25 km west of the town of Kol-
wezi and about 270 km west of the Katanga provin-
cial capital of Lubumbashi. In August 2012, the DRC
government granted mining licences for the project
that cover a total of 400 km
2
. According to Ivanplats,
Kamoa is the world’s largest undeveloped high-grade
copper discovery.
Ivanplats is proposing two principal phases of de-
velopment. The first phase of mining would target
production of high-grade copper mineralisation from
shallow, underground resources to yield a high-value
concentrate. Initial mill feed would come from Kan-
soko Sud and lead into the Centrale area of Kamoa’s
gently-dipping mineralised zones that collectively
contain estimated indicated resources of 224 Mt
grading 3,85 % copper (at a 3,0 % copper cutoff and
a minimum 3,0 m vertical mining thickness). The
planned second phase would entail a major expan-
sion of the mine and mill and construction of a large
smelter, supported by the full extent of the Kamoa
resources.
Friedland said the revised mining scenario was be-
ing developed to deliver the best balance of a lower
initial capital cost and shortest time to first produc-
tion, while maintaining the company’s commitment
and momentum toward a major mine, mill and smelt-
ing operation.
“This scenario, if confirmed by current studies and
financial modelling, could provide for a 2017 start of
copper production from Kamoa’s first phase of devel-
opment, subject to available financing. It would re-
quire significantly lower capital costs than previously
considered launch scenarios, while preserving the vi-
ability of our medium- and longer-term development
options,” he said.
A recommended initial production rate will form
part of the development study being prepared by
Hatch of South Africa. Projected to be completed in
the second half of 2014, the study will be based on
development of the estimated mineral resources de-
scribed in the March 2013 Kamoa Technical Report,
excluding inferred resources.
In addition, an updated preliminary economic as-
sessment of the preferred development scenario now
underway is expected to be finished in the fourth
quarter of this year.
Johansson said that excavation of the first mine-ac-
cess decline at Kamoa is expected to begin early next
year. The decline would provide machinery with ac-
cess to the high-grade, near-surface copper resources
that would be targeted for the planned first phase of
production using the room-and-pillar mining method.
“To get into production as quickly as possible, our
current strategy is to start with a smaller, simpler and
more capital-efficient mine. Given the Kamoa project’s
significant estimated mineral resource tonnage and its
large lateral extent, we continue to believe that poten-
tial mining rates of up to 20 million tonnes per annum
eventually could be achieved by operating in multiple
mining areas and completing a series of production
expansions to maximise the mine’s capacity.”
Johansson said Ivanplats is committed to building
a smelter that will have the capacity to serve other
mines in the Katanga district, create hundreds of ad-
Ivanplats
launches new
study on
Kamoa discovery
The Kamoa camp. The Kamoa deposit is situated to the west of
Kolwezi (under Kalahari sand cover) in an area outside the nor-
mally accepted limits of the Copperbelt (photo: Ivanplats).
Ivanplats Executive Chairman Robert Friedland and Chief Executive Officer Lars-Eric Johansson have an-
nounced that key elements have been established for a new study to help set the stage for the cost-effective
development of a mine and processing plant at the company’s Kamoa copper discovery on the Central Afri-
can Copperbelt in the DRC’s Katanga Province. Lower initial capital cost and significant smelting capacity
are among key elements for a refocused development study.
