• Ivanhoe Mines will begin a 6,400-meter diamond drilling campaign in Angola’s Moxico and Cuando Cubango provinces in Q4 2025.
• The program covers a 22,000 km² exploration license acquired in 2023 and follows 2024 mapping and sampling work.
• The move aligns with Ivanhoe’s $75 million exploration budget for 2025 and its strategy to expand copper operations across Africa.

Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., operator of Africa’s largest copper mine, Kamoa-Kakula in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), confirmed plans to begin its first copper exploration campaign in Angola by the end of 2025.

The Canadian company disclosed the plan in its third-quarter financial report released on October 29. The program will include a 6,400-meter diamond drilling campaign on Ivanhoe’s 22,000-square-kilometer Angolan exploration license, marking the first major field activity since the permit’s acquisition in 2023.

The project, located in the Moxico and Cuando Cubango provinces, underwent detailed geological mapping and sampling throughout 2024. Preliminary studies identified several high-priority targets that will guide the upcoming drilling phase.

While Ivanhoe did not disclose the specific investment for the Angolan program, the company said it has earmarked $75 million for all its exploration projects in 2025.

Ivanhoe Mines also operates the Western Forelands project in the DRC, its flagship exploration asset adjacent to Kamoa-Kakula. The addition of the Angolan license is part of the company’s broader strategy to “expand its footprint in Africa’s copper sector,” Ivanhoe said in the report.

The decision comes amid strong global demand for copper driven by renewable energy and electrification trends. The metal’s role in electric vehicles and grid infrastructure has bolstered long-term price forecasts, prompting miners to accelerate new exploration efforts across Africa.

Ivanhoe’s announcement coincides with Angola’s efforts to diversify its resource-dependent economy. The southern African country is preparing to launch Tetelo, a $250 million copper project expected to become its first industrial-scale copper mine.

The government views copper as a pillar of economic diversification beyond hydrocarbons, and new investments like Ivanhoe’s program reinforce the country’s emergence as a future copper producer in the region.

This article was initially published in French by Aurel Sèdjro Houenou

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum