TSX-listed Ivanhoe Mines’ Executive Co-Chair Robert Friedland and President and Chief Executive Officer Marna Cloete announced today an operational update on dewatering and rehabilitation activities at the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex.
Following the seismic activity that occurred at the Kakula Mine in May 2025, Kamoa-Kakula’s engineering team implemented a three-stage plan to dewater the Kakula Mine. “Stage One” dewatering activities to stabilize and maintain current water levels were completed on June 2, 2025. “Stage Two” dewatering activities are expected to commence imminently. Stage Two dewatering consists of the installation of four new high-capacity, submersible pumps and new permanent surface infrastructure to dewater the eastern side of the Kakula Mine from surface.
Kamoa-Kakula’s engineering team ordered the Stage Two high-capacity, submersible pumps, each rated with a pumping capacity of 650 litres per second, from Hefei Hengda Jianghai Pump Co., Ltd. of Anhui Province, China. Four of the five pumps have been delivered and are undergoing installation. The remaining pump will be shipped at a later date and kept in reserve as a spare.
Representatives from Hefei Hengda Jianghai Pump Co., Ltd are currently on-site overseeing the installation of the submersible pumps, alongside Kamoa-Kakula’s project engineering team. The 4.2 megawatt (MW) submersible pumps are being installed in pairs down two adjacent, existing 400-metre shafts that access a deep section of the eastern side of the Kakula Mine, as shown in Figure 1. The pumps, as well as the associated valves and piping, are currently being lowered into place from the surface.
The submersible pumps will be fully submerged until the end of November, when the majority of the dewatering is expected to be complete and the water level reaches near the bottom of the Stage Two dewatering shafts, as illustrated in Figure 1.
The submersible pumps will be powered by a separate, dedicated 20 MW generator, primarily to minimize any disruption risk from the electrical grid.
The rehabilitation of the currently accessible areas underground at Kakula is now complete, restoring access to all areas of the mine up to the current water levels. Once the new Stage Two high-capacity, submersible pumps, located on the eastern side of the Kakula Mine, are operational, the Stage One temporary underground pumping infrastructure will be remobilized to assist with the Stage Two dewatering activities.
Dewatering the Western side of the Kakula Mine is expected to be completed within eight weeks. No seismic activity was experienced in the Western side of the Kakula Mine; therefore, regaining access to the high-grade areas on this side of the mine, as shown in Figure 2, is expected to be relatively quick, as no additional rehabilitation measures will be required. Therefore, mining grades from the Kakula Mine are expected to improve notably towards year-end.
In addition, as water levels subside on the eastern side of the Kakula Mine, rehabilitation will commence immediately as required. Selective mining within the existing workings on the eastern side of the mine is expected in Q1 2026.
“Stage Three” dewatering activities will start in late 2025, consisting of the rehabilitation and recommissioning of major existing pump stations on the eastern side of the Kakula Mine that are currently underwater. Stage Three will be the final dewatering stage, which will use the existing horizontal pumping infrastructure to dewater the remaining areas deep on the eastern side.
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