Kamoa-Kakula is a very large, near-surface, flat-lying, stratiform copper deposit with adjacent prospective exploration areas within the Central African Copperbelt, approximately 25 kilometres west of the town of Kolwezi and about 270 kilometres west of the provincial capital of Lubumbashi.
Links
- https://www.ivanhoemines.com/what-we-do/operations-projects/kamoa-kakula-mining-complex/
- https://goo.gl/maps/1oMyFXf8NsAPCp1RA
- https://www.mindat.org/loc-412996.html
Notes
Owner: Ivanhoe Mines (39.6%), Zijin Mining Group (39.6%), Crystal River Global Limited (0.8%), Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (20%)
Start operations: 2021
Workforce:
Minerals mined:
Ore volume processed (Mtpa): ramping up to 19.2 Mtpa
Ore grade: 2-3%
Copper production: 437 kt (2024) ramping up to 600 kt
Products: concentrate, blister
Operations: underground mine, mill, concentrator, smelter (under construction)
Projects & highlights:
- Kamoa-Kakula is powered by clean, renewable hydro-generated electricity. Independent consultants Skarn Associates of London, England, estimate that the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex has among the lowest greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensities per tonne of metal produced globally, and the lowest of any major copper mine.
Köppen-Geiger climate zone: Aw - tropical savanna, wet
Media
- Apr-26: Ivanhoe Mines Reports 71,417 Tonnes of Copper in Anode Produced by Kamoa-Kakula in Q1 2026; Recovery Efforts Advancing (checked 15-Apr-26)
- Mar-26: Kamoa-Kakula output guidance for 2026, 2027 lowered; output to reach above 500 000 t from 2028 (checked 1-Apr-26)
- Jan-26: Ivanhoe Mines begins copper anode production at new Congo smelter (checked 6-Jan-26)
- Dec-25: Ivanhoe celebrates start of heat-up of Africa's 'largest, greenest' copper smelter (checked 4-Dec-25)
- Nov-25: Ivanhoe completes initial ramp-up of Turbine 5 at Inga II hydropower plant (checked 1-Dec-25)
- Sep-25: Ivanhoe begins Stage 2 mine dewatering, defers copper guidance (checked 22-Sep-25)
- Aug-25: Ivanhoe’s Friedland raises Kamoa-Kakula cost outlook (checked 12-Aug-25)
- Jul-25: Copper output at Ivanhoe’s Congo mine jumps in second quarter (checked 9-Jul-25)
- Jun-25: Ivanhoe Mines Announces Restart of Underground Mining Operations on Western Side of Kakula Mine on June 7, 2025 (checked 11-Jun-25)
- May-25: Earthquake forces temporary shutdown of Ivanhoe’s Kakula underground mine (checked 20-May-25)
Created: May-25; updated: Jun-25, Jul-25, Aug-25, Sep-25, Dec-25, Jan-26, Apr-26