Uganda is gearing up for increased copper exploration, granting a new 7 757 km2 licence package to Canadian mining behemoth Ivanhoe.
The package is in line with Zambia’s aim of producing more than 3 million tons of copper a year by 2030, according to Zambia president Hakainde Hichilema.
It marks Ivanhoe’s entry into Zambia. The company already has substantial interests in copper mining on the continent, mainly in the DRC, with a 40% share in the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex; a 60–100% share in the Western Forelands exploration project; and 62% stake in the Kipushi zinc-copper-germanium-silver-lead mine. It also holds a 64% stake in the Platreef PGM-nickel mine in South Africa as well as exploration licences in Angola.
Mining Weekly reports the new licence package is strategically placed between Ivanhoe’s Western Forelands project and the company’s Angolan exploration licence package. It covers an area three times larger than the Western Forelands project.
‘Our entrance into Zambia marks an exciting new chapter in Ivanhoe Mines’ commitment to expanding our exploration footprint and testing the extent of the Central African Copperbelt, which is already the world’s largest and highest-grade sedimentary copperbelt,’ says Ivanhoe co-chair Robert Friedland.
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