Overview of the Kamoa-Kakula (KK) copper mine in Lualaba Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Africa
The Kamoa-Kakula copper mine is located in Lualaba Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, approximately 270 kilometers from the provincial capital, Lubumbashi. It is the largest copper deposit discovered on the African continent and the second-largest undeveloped copper resource in the world. The Kamoa copper mine has been confirmed as the world's largest undeveloped high-grade copper deposit. While stream sediment sampling studies in the area began as early as the 1970s, the Kamoa copper mine was not officially discovered by Ivanhoe Mines until 2008. The high-grade Kakula copper deposit was subsequently discovered in 2014.
This deposit is a typical sedimentary-type stratigraphic copper deposit, but is unique in that the ore bodies are hosted within a conglomerate basement of the Grande Formation, rather than the dolomite formations of the Mainesia Formation, common in traditional sedimentary copper deposits. Globally, such deposits primarily form in epicontinental marine sedimentary basins near the paleo-equator, characterized by high evaporation rates and good permeability. They are concentrated in the Central African Copperbelt (Congo (DRC)-Zambia) in the Katanga Basin of Central Africa and the Permian-Zehistan Basin of Central Europe. The Kamoa-Kakula Project is located within the sedimentary metamorphic rock province of the Katanga Basin, a continuously evolving intracontinental rift valley. Its basement consists of continental siliceous rocks deposited within a series of restricted rift basins, overlying organic-rich marine siltstones and shales. Oxidized ore bodies in the deposit are underlain by sandstones and siltstones of the Mawasha Formation, while unoxidized ore bodies are hosted within pyritic diamictites and interbedded siltstone-sandstone layers of the Nuba Formation. The main gangue minerals of the ore are quartz and muscovite, and the minor minerals include chlorite and biotite.
According to the latest exploration report, the project's indicated resources cover 77 square kilometers. Based on a 1% copper cut-off grade, the project's total resources are 1.387 billion tons, with an average grade of 2.74%, a vertical thickness of 6.5 meters, and 380 million tons of copper. Inferred resources cover 27.4 square kilometers, with an average grade of 1.68%, a vertical thickness of 4.5 meters, and 5.69 million tons of copper. As of 2022, the deposit's total copper reserves have reached 18.9 million tons. The project's equity structure is: Ivanhoe Mines (39.6%), Zijin Mining Group (39.6%), Crystal River Global Limited (0.8%), and the Congolese government (20%).
Distribution of mineral resources in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The project is expected to officially begin production in 2021 and, through phased expansion, become the world's second-largest copper mining complex. Copper concentrate production is expected to reach 390,000 tonnes in 2023, with plans to expand to 440,000-490,000 tonnes by the end of 2024. The mining license is valid from 2012 to 2042, with an exploration license extendable for a further 15 years. The license covers the Kamoa, Kamoa South, Kakula, and Kakula West mineral resource areas, as well as the Vestforland region.
Lualaba Province
Notably, Ivanhoe Mines announced the first independent resource estimate for the adjacent Makoko-Kiara Project in November 2023: The Makoko Project has Measured Resources of 16 million tonnes grading 3.55% copper; Inferred Resources of 154 million tonnes grading 1.97% copper (at a 1.5% copper cut-off); and Measured Resources of 5 million tonnes grading 3.56% copper (also at a 1.5% copper cut-off) at the Kiara Project. Exploration work at both projects is progressing further in 2024.
Alluvial Tin plant flowchart
