• New smelter in the DRC will process all copper concentrate from Kamoa-Kakula

• Facility can treat 500,000 tons of concentrate per year and produce 99% blister copper

• Launch comes as 2025 output guidance is cut after a seismic incident

In a note published on Dec. 1, Ivanhoe Mines announced the official start-up of the copper smelter at its Kamoa-Kakula mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The update follows an inauguration ceremony held on Nov. 21 and marks the completion of a $700 million project, a major step in boosting local value addition for copper extracted from the site.

With an annual capacity of 500,000 tons of copper concentrate, the smelter stems from an initiative launched in 2021 after the mine’s commissioning. The goal was to process all Kamoa-Kakula copper within the DRC. At the time, Ivanhoe Mines said about 35% of the mine’s concentrate was sent to the nearby Lualaba smelter, with the rest exported for treatment abroad.

With the new facility online, the company now plans to process all Kamoa-Kakula output on site. Any excess will be sent to the Lualaba plant for treatment. The smelter will produce blister copper, an intermediate product used to make anodes, with a purity of about 99%. By comparison, the copper content in the mine’s concentrate is roughly 55%.

The new facility strengthens the Canadian miner’s position along the copper value chain, allowing it to capture more value from Kamoa-Kakula’s production. All future smelter output is already covered under offtake agreements with China’s CITIC Metal and Zijin Mining, as well as Swiss trader Trafigura.

The start-up comes as the ramp-up of Kamoa-Kakula faces further delays this year. Ivanhoe Mines recently cut its 2025 production outlook to between 370,000 and 420,000 tons, down from the initial 520,000–580,000 tons, due to a seismic incident in May. The company is expected to publish its 2026 guidance this week.

Aurel Sèdjro Houenou