JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – TSX-listed Ivanhoe Mines has marked the start of work on the twin declines at the ultrahigh-grade Kakula copper discovery, at the Kamoa-Kakula copper project, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with the first blast.
The Kakula boxcut was successfully completed on October 26, followed by the first blast for the twin declines at Kakula on November 16 – ten days ahead of schedule, said executive chairperson Robert Friedland.
The Kakula 3 600 m decline development work, which is being undertaken by Chinese firm JCHX Mining Management’s DRC subsidiary JMMC, is scheduled to be completed within one year.
Meanwhile, Ivanhoe highlighted the 14 rigs on site continuing to drill at Kamoa-Kakula, with ten rigs focused on expanding and upgrading the resources in the Kakula high-grade zone along trend to the west and southeast.
“A fresh resource estimate for Kakula is being prepared and is expected to result in a major upgrade and expansion of the Kakula mineral resources,” Friedland said.
The updated resource estimate is expected to be released in January 2018.
Further, the new, expanded Kamoa-Kakula preliminary economic assessment (PEA) is progressing well and is scheduled for completion during this quarter.
“In addition to the new PEA study, preliminary work is under way on a six-million-tonne-a-year prefeasibility study at Kakula that will be based on the upcoming January 2018 resource model,” he said.
The study will be considered as the base case for the first phase of development at Kamoa-Kakula, the development plans of which will be reassessed and amended as the project moves forward owing to the successful step-out drilling at Kakula West.