Ivanhoe’s track record of discovering high-grade copper at a 1% cut-off in the Western Forelands is the best in the world at a cost of less than $0.01 per pound of copper.
TSX-listed Ivanhoe Mines Executive Co-Chair Robert Friedland and President and Chief Executive Officer Marna Cloete have announced the independently verified, updated Mineral Resource estimate for the Makoko District within Ivanhoe’s 54%-to-100% owned Western Forelands Exploration Project.
The Western Forelands Exploration Project consists of a licence package covering 2,393 square kilometres adjacent to the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The area of the Western Forelands licence package is approximately six times larger than that of the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex. Since the maiden Mineral Resource on Makoko and Kiala was announced on November 13, 2023, more than 86,000 metres of diamond drilling were completed in the Western Forelands up to February 2025. Drilling was primarily focused on the Makoko, Makoko West, and Kitoko discoveries, now collectively referred to as the Makoko District.
Since November 2023, the Makoko District has increased by 2 kilometres to 13 kilometres in strike length, and the total contained copper has approximately doubled.
Ivanhoe Founder and Executive Co-Chairman Robert Friedland commented: “We deeply appreciate the achievements of our geological team in doubling the size of the Makoko resource in the past 18 months. The Makoko District remains open in multiple directions, offering significant opportunities for further expansion. Based on our historical experience in the Western Forelands, these high-grade sedimentary copper systems convert very high percentages of Inferred Resources to the Indicated category as the drilling density increases. We have full confidence that the coming years, particularly 2025, will herald unprecedented progress, marked by record metres drilled and new horizons explored.”
"Very few of our mining industry peers are actively searching for new copper discoveries… and even fewer are searching in the right places. The scarcity of high-quality, undeveloped copper resources is becoming increasingly evident… and the ongoing supply shortage in the copper concentrate market will do nothing but grow. To date, Ivanhoe has delineated more than 20 billion pounds of copper in the Western Forelands, outside of Kamoa-Kakula, at a high cut-off grade of 1%, and we are just beginning to unlock this region’s vast potential.”
"The Western Forelands is the world’s richest copper basin, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the world’s second largest copper producer, stands unmatched as the premier destination for building new copper mines. Other locations, such as low-grade, high-altitude porphyry deposits in Andes Mountains, face capital intensities exceeding $30,000 per tonne, resulting in much lower returns on invested capital. The Democratic Republic of the Congo sets the benchmark for capital efficiency when it comes to new copper mines… there is no ice… nor snow… the endowment is high grade… the topography is flat… and the rail connection goes directly to the Ocean. Kamoa-Kakula’s phased development was completed ahead of schedule and on budget, achieving an industry-leading capital intensity of just $7,000 per tonne of greenfield copper production. This achievement is a testament to both the DRC’s exceptional potential and Kamoa Kakula's operational excellence. “Copper has become the defining strategic metal of the 21st century, and the world is critically unprepared for the rising, unstoppable demand for copper metal. At Ivanhoe Mines, we are dedicated to building the next generation of copper mines… and they will be in the Western Forelands.”
Ivanhoe Mines’ Chief Operating Officer, Mark Farren, commented: “Although the Western Forelands is a greenfield discovery, building a mine there is in many ways more typical of a brownfield project. Before we started building Kamoa-Kakula’s Phase 1 mine, we had to establish power infrastructure, establish road and rail logistics, we had to find and train a team to build and deliver the mine on budget and ahead of schedule. We now have all of this infrastructure in place that will help us build our next mine next door in the Western Forelands. These attributes could even lower the cut-off grade of what is possible to mine economically. “The scale of the Western Forelands unlocks efficiencies that few jurisdictions can match — and with the resource still open in multiple directions, the long-term potential here is truly world-class.”
Makoko District ranks as the world’s fifth largest copper discovery since Kakula in 2015 The Makoko discovery was first discovered in 2018 when drilling intersected flat lying, sedimentary-hosted copper mineralization geologically similar, and at comparable depths to the nearby Kamoa and Kakula orebodies. Subsequent drilling has delineated a continuously mineralized region, now called the Makoko District, joining the three discoveries of Makoko, Makoko West, and Kitoko. Copper mineralization in the Makoko District currently spans a corridor at least 13 kilometres in length and between 1.7 kilometres and 5.8 kilometres wide. The eastern edge of the Makoko District is situated approximately 10 kilometres from the western edge of Kakula. Mineralization remains open to the northeast and 4 downdip of the current footprint, with a high potential for further resource expansion.
There is abundant deposition of copper across the Makoko District, with approximately two-thirds of holes drilled intersecting copper. In addition, there are higher-grade sub-zones at Makoko, Makoko West, and Kitoko, which mirror the style of mineralization of the Kamoa orebody that feeds the Phase 3 concentrator and will feed the future Phase 4 concentrator. The highest-grade section of the Makoko deposit occurs between 300 and 600 metres in depth and coincides with the Indicated Resource area.
The updated Mineral Resource estimate for the Makoko District is based on the results of 147,000 metres drilled in 311 holes, of which 86,000 metres in 123 holes have been added since the maiden Mineral Resource was announced in November 2023. The total area of the updated Mineral Resource has increased by 37.4 square kilometres, with the Indicated Resource covering 1.6 square kilometres and the Inferred Resource covering 57 square kilometres. The average dip of the mineralized zone in the Mineral Resource is between 11 and 18 degrees, dipping to the southeast.
Highlights of the interim, updated Mineral Resource estimate for the Makoko District, prepared by Ivanhoe Mines under the direction of the MSA Group (MSA) of Johannesburg, South Africa, in accordance with the 2014 CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves:
■ Indicated Resources total 27.7 million tonnes at a grade of 2.79% copper, containing 773,000 tonnes (1.7 billion pounds) of copper at a 1% copper cut off. At a higher 1.5% copper cut-off, Indicated Resources total 25.3 million tonnes at a grade of 2.93% copper, containing 741,000 tonnes (1.6 billion pounds) of copper.
■ Inferred Resources total 494 million tonnes at a grade of 1.70% copper, containing 8.38 million tonnes (18.4 billion pounds) of copper, at a 1% copper cut-off. At a higher 1.5% copper cut-off, Inferred Resources total 221 million tonnes at a grade of 2.23% copper, containing 4.93 million tonnes (10.9 billion pounds) of copper.
