- Kipushi concentrator throughput rate increased by 20%, setting new production records.
- Record 1,052 tonnes of zinc produced in 24 hours, equivalent to an annualized rate of over 340,000 tonnes
- Off-take agreement signed with Mercuria for up to one-third of high-grade zinc production
Ivanhoe Mines’ (TSX: IVN) (OTCQX: IVPAF) Executive Co-Chair Robert Friedland and President and Chief Executive Officer Marna Cloete announced today that the debottlenecking program at the ultra-high-grade Kipushi Zinc Mine, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, was recently completed both ahead of schedule and under budget. Zinc production from the Kipushi concentrator has significantly improved following the completion of the debottlenecking program, setting multiple new production records.
Engineering work on the debottlenecking program commenced in September 2024 with the aim of boosting the concentrator throughput rate by 20% from 800,000 to 960,000 tonnes of ore per annum. Construction works were complete in early August, following a second and final concentrator shutdown to commission the newly installed equipment.
Concurrent with the integrations of the debottlenecking program, the August shutdown also included additional upgrades to the dense media separation (DMS) circuit to improve equipment availability. As reported on October 7, 2024, excessive fine material (fines) in the ore feed was causing blockages in the DMS circuit, leading to frequent unscheduled shutdowns. Following the completion of the upgrades during the recent shutdown, the DMS circuit availability has increased notably from approximately 70% to 96%, boosting concentrator recoveries to over 90%.
Multiple concentrator records have been achieved since the completion of the debottlenecking program, due to both improved concentrator throughput rates and DMS availability. In the seven days following the early August shutdown, a record of 5,545 tonnes of zinc in concentrate was produced, equivalent to an annual production rate of approximately 290,000 tonnes of zinc. Sustaining this run rate would make the Kipushi Mine the world’s fourth-largest zinc mining operation. In addition, a record 1,052 tonnes of zinc in concentrate was produced over 24 hours in mid-August, equivalent to an annual production rate of over 340,000 tonnes of zinc, after accounting for availability.
Further back-up electrical upgrades continue with the installation of an additional six megawatts in backup generator capacity, which is expected to be commissioned and available in the fourth quarter. It is anticipated that the back-up capacity will be used to support operations during times of grid instability.
Following the completion of the aforementioned initiatives, it is expected that the rate of zinc production during the remainder of the year will significantly increase, therefore Kipushi’s 2025 production guidance remains unchanged at between 180,000 and 240,000 tonnes of zinc.
In addition to delivering the debottlenecking program ahead of schedule and under budget, the Kipushi project team has done so with an industry-leading safety record. Throughout construction of the Kipushi concentrator, which started in September 2022 and was completed in June 2024, as well as the recently completed debottlenecking program, the project team at Kipushi did not record a single lost time injury (LTI). This is an outstanding and incredibly rare industry achievement.
In July 2025, a three-year offtake agreement was signed with independent energy and commodity group, Mercuria of Geneva, Switzerland. The agreement is for up to one-third of the remaining unallocated offtake of Kipushi’s high-grade zinc concentrate. Off-take agreements for the other approximately two-thirds of Kipushi’s zinc concentrate production are already in place with CITIC Metal (HK) Limited of Hong Kong and Trafigura Asia Trading of Singapore, as announced on July 2, 2024. In addition to the recently signed off-take agreement, Mercuria has provided a loan facility of $20 million to Kipushi Corporation over the term of the off-take contract, at a rate of interest SOFR, plus 6%.
