A copper mine in the DRC is poised to become the largest operation of its kind in Africa following expansion works.

Once the project is complete, production at the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Mining Complex is expected to increase to approximately 600 000 tons of copper by end-2024, Mining Review reports. According to Canadian company Ivanhoe Mines, the development will position the mine as the largest of its kind in Africa, and the third-largest in the world.

The complex is in the third phase of construction, which includes the establishment of two new underground mines – Komoa 1 and Komoa 2 – as well as a 5 million tons per annum (Mtpa) concentrator plant beside them. The complex be powered by Komoa Copper’s Inga II partnership, a hydropower facility on the Congo river.

The existing concentrator plants from phases one and two will deliver a combined throughput of 9.2 million tons of ore by the second quarter of 2023, increasing the plant’s production to more than 450 000 tons of copper.

Once production from phase three starts, the complex’s total ore-processing capacity will increase to more than 14 Mtpa.

10 May 2022
Image: Kamoa-Kakula Copper Mining Complex