Ivanhoe Mines (TSE:IVN) executives used a Tuesday webinar to outline a new mineral reserve and mineral resource update for the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Mine, including redesigned mine plans following a May 2025 seismic event, revised near-term production and cash cost guidance, and operational milestones tied to the company’s smelter, concentrators, and power strategy.
Management frames update as a conservative baseline
Founder and Co-Executive Chairman Robert Friedland said the company’s goal was “putting a floor underneath all expectations for the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Mine,” describing the update as a “solid conservative appraisal” of redevelopment plans intended to restore Kamoa-Kakula’s “Tier-One” status and high-grade profile over the coming years.
CEO details turnaround milestones since the May 2025 event
President and CEO Marna Cloete said the company has invested more than $7 billion in capital at Kamoa-Kakula and generated a similar level of EBITDA over the past five years since 2021, producing 1.7 million tonnes of copper in the first five years of operation. She added that 90% of employees are Congolese and noted the operation includes “Africa’s largest and greenest copper smelter.”
Cloete walked through a timeline following the May 18, 2025 seismic event, including the June 7 re-entry to restart underground operations on the western side of the mine and the July 2025 appointment of AMC as consultant on the technical report. She also cited key steps such as commissioning four 650 liters-per-second pumps for Stage Two dewatering in September 2025, receiving preliminary geotechnical findings in October and November, and commissioning and ramping up the smelter in November and December.
She said the updated mine design and exclusion zone reduced mineral reserves, requiring updated 2026 and 2027 production guidance and cash costs, while capital guidance remains unchanged. Cloete emphasized that the work is intended to create a “launchpad” to restart production “in excess of 500,000 tons from 2028 onwards.”
Technical update: mine redesign, exclusion zones, and reserve changes
Executive Vice President of Technical Services Simon Bottoms outlined five main drivers of changes to reported mineral reserves. He said the “old Kakula mine” was removed from the mineral reserve statement, including a “mature extraction zone” that has been “excluded and removed from both mineral reserves and mineral resources.” A separate zone was reclassified from measured and indicated to inferred resources, which Bottoms said could potentially return to mine plans following additional work and access after dewatering.
Bottoms described the most significant change as new geotechnical parameters, including wider pillars and revised mine sequencing principles applied across the Kamoa-Kakula complex after the Kakula investigations. He said the changes result in an overall extraction ratio of “approximately 60% of the Mineral Resource.”
He also discussed redesigned stoping approaches that increase the proportion of high-productivity stoping fronts, which increases dilution and lowers reserve grade, but is intended to improve productivity and tonnage mined. Bottoms said revised mineral reserve assumptions included a $4.50 per pound copper price and a reduction in the reserve cutoff to 1.5%, which he said helped balance metal changes while extending mine life. He added that mineral resources at Kamoa 3, 4, 5, and 6 were converted into mineral reserves using the same cautious geotechnical criteria, increasing overall mine life but at a lower grade and with most mining starting roughly 10 years out.
Looking ahead, Bottoms said the company is focused on “resetting the Kakula mine” into “Kakula 2.0,” centered on developing safe peripheral accesses and establishing infrastructure such as ventilation, dewatering, and electrical reticulation in “safe foundational pillars.” In the interim, he said Kamoa will serve as the “core backbone of the complex” as development accelerates from newly established box cuts.
Operations: Project 95, smelter ramp-up, and contingency planning
Chief Operating Officer Tom van den Berg said Project 95 construction was 87% complete and is intended to increase concentrator recoveries, citing recoveries “up to 87% and then up to 92%, depending on the feed grade.” He also noted the Phase I and II concentrators provide 17 million tonnes of annual capacity, with “spare capacity available in 2026,” and said the company is seeking opportunities to fill capacity as more mining sites are opened.
On the smelter, van den Berg referenced the first pour in December 2025 and described “99% pure copper anodes” produced at the Kakula smelter. He said ramp-up was “exceed[ing] expectations,” adding it was operating “60% above capacity at the moment.” He also said initial shipments were taking place on the Lobito rail corridor and that realized acid sales pricing was “currently at $500 a ton,” which he attributed to supply constraints and disruptions, including “continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz.”
Van den Berg also described scenario planning tied to diesel supply and pricing, including deprioritizing diesel genset consumption, maintaining on-site diesel stocks, commissioning a 60 MW solar plant expected mid-2026, and negotiating a further 60 MW expansion targeted for mid-2027 completion.
Updated guidance: 2026-2027 deferral and higher near-term cash costs
Executive Vice President Alex Pickard said the company will shift reporting to copper production in anodes, reflecting expected output from the smelter “at least until our smelter is exceeding its capacity of 500,000 tons per annum from 2028.”
- 2026 production guidance: 290,000-330,000 tonnes of copper anodes
- 2027 production guidance: 380,000-420,000 tonnes of copper anodes
Pickard described the updated outlook as “more as a one-year deferral” of the prior ramp-up forecast, with an “around a 20% decrease” across 2026 and 2027 versus previous expectations. He said about 70% of the reduction reflects work to redevelop Kakula, with the balance linked to increased development at the Kamoa mines.
On costs, Pickard said cash cost guidance has increased “by 10%-20%” due primarily to lower production and lower grade during the redevelopment period. He provided updated ranges of “around $2.60-$3 per pound for 2026” and “$2.10-$2.50 for 2027,” while targeting about $2 per pound in 2028 and beyond as production returns to steady state. He also said higher diesel pricing assumptions were incorporated, but that higher sulfuric acid pricing would help offset diesel impacts. Pickard added that acid credits “basically pay for the operating cost of the smelter,” and said smelter operations reduce logistics and treatment and refining charges as a share of total costs compared with past levels.
Pickard said investors should expect near-term milestones including the completion and ramp-up of Project 95 starting “next month,” box cuts at Kahala and Kansoko Sud “this quarter,” 60 MW of solar power by mid-year, and completion of a five-year detailed feasibility study and life-of-mine pre-feasibility study “towards the end of this year or early next year.” He also noted the company expects an updated mineral resource estimate for the Western Forelands during the coming quarter and highlighted upcoming milestones at Platreef related to a shaft expansion and Phase II timeline.
About Ivanhoe Mines (TSE:IVN)
Ivanhoe Mines Ltd is a mineral exploration and development company. The company, together with its subsidiaries, explores, develops, and recovers minerals and precious gems from its property interests located in Africa. The group explores platinum, nickel, copper, gold, silver, cobalt, iron, vanadium, and chrome. It operates in four segments: Platreef property, Kamoa Holding joint venture, Kipushi properties, and the Company’s treasury offices.
