Kakula Copper Mine Underground Development Far Ahead of Schedule - Surface Processing Plant Advancing Rapidly

DR CONGO — Ivanhoe Mines reported that underground development at the Kakula Copper Mine continues to exceed expectations with more than 18.7 kilometers now complete, which is 5.5 kilometers ahead of schedule. In July, the mining team achieved 1,638 meters of underground development - 257 meters ahead of plan for the month.

The majority of the development headings at the Kakula Mine currently are traversing medium-grade sections of the orebody, with average grades ranging between 3% and 5% copper. Several development headings are in higher-grade zones averaging between 5% and 8% copper, and this ore is being placed on a dedicated, high-grade surface stockpile at Kakula North that currently totals approximately 116,000 tonnes grading an estimated 6.08% copper. The lower-grade surface stockpiles at Kakula North, Kakula South and Kansoko together contain an additional 446,000 tonnes grading an estimated 2.73% copper.

As Kakula's underground development progresses over the next few months, the majority of the working areas are expected to transition into the higher-grade ore zones near the centre of the deposit that have copper grades approximately 5% to 8%.

The high-capacity ore conveyor system at the Kakula North declines, which has a capacity of 2,000 tonnes per hour, is undergoing final commissioning and is expected to begin continuous operations shortly. Once this happens, the ore mined in the northern portion of the Kakula Mine will be combined and be placed on a blended surface stockpile. The Kakula South and Kansoko declines are not equipped with conveyor systems; as such, the ore mined from these deposits will continue to be placed on separate surface stockpiles, based on copper grades.

Initial production at the Kakula Mine is scheduled for Q3 2021. Kakula is projected to be the world's highest-grade major copper mine with an initial mining rate of 3.8 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) at an estimated average feed grade in excess of 6% copper over the first five years of operation.

The Kakula Mine will have one of the most favorable environmental footprints of any tier-one copper mine. It will be powered by clean, renewable hydroelectricity and be among the world's lowest greenhouse gas emitters per unit of copper produced. It also will have a relatively tiny surface footprint as approximately 55% of the mine's tailings will be pumped back into underground workings.

The Kamoa-Kakula Project is unique as it combines ultra-high copper grades in thick, shallow and relatively flat-lying deposits - allowing for large-scale, highly-productive, mechanized underground mining operations.

More than 300 truckloads, consisting mainly of structural steel and equipment for Kakula's initial 3.8-million-tonne-per-annum processing plant, are expected to arrive at the mine site before the end of August. Fabrication of the plant's largest components - two ball mills, each measuring 9.75 meters (32 feet) long and 6.1 meters (20 feet) in diameter - has been completed at CITIC Heavy Industries' factory in Luoyang, China, and the third and final shipment of ball mill components is expected to be on-site by the end of September.

Once the northern and southern access drives are connected, the majority of mining activities will focus on the initial drift-and-fill mining blocks in the centre of the Kakula deposit, where the average grade is higher than 8% copper. Drift-and-fill stoping is a highly-efficient form of underground mechanized mining and will allow the operation to recover significantly more tonnes from the orebody.

Underground mining also is taking place at the Kansoko Mine, located at the Kamoa deposit, approximately 10 kilometers north of the Kakula Mine. More than 220 meters of advancement was achieved at Kansoko.

The construction of Kakula's second permanent underground water-handling system is progressing well and commissioning is expected this month. The new system will add 800 liters per second of underground pumping capacity, bringing the total installed capacity to 1,400 liters per second. As mine development progresses, additional underground water dams are planned for the northern and southern perimeter drifts.

The independent Kakula definitive feasibility study (DFS) and an updated Integrated Development Plan for the entire Kamoa-Kakula mining complex is expected to be finalized shortly. The Integrated Development Plan will include details on the planned expansion phases for the greater Kamoa-Kakula mining complex, incorporating updates for mineral resources, production rates and economic analysis.

Basic engineering design and costing for Kamoa-Kakula's planned Phase 2 expansion, taking production from 3.8 Mtpa to 7.6 Mtpa, also is complete. The scope of facilities for Phase 2 includes underground expansion at the Kakula Mine to reach an annual production rate of 6 Mtpa, the expansion of mining operations at the Kansoko Mine to a steady state 1.6 Mtpa, a second 3.8-Mtpa concentrator plant at Kakula, as well as associated surface infrastructure to support the expansion at the various sites.