Ivanhoe Mines fires up Africa’s largest copper smelter

[Ben Graham]

Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN) recently ignited what it touts as the largest and greenest copper smelter in Africa, with first feed of concentrates by the end of this year.

On Nov. 21, the Canadian miner officially fired up its 500,000-tonne-per-annum copper smelter at Kamoa-Kakula. This was accompanied by an opening ceremony on the site, attended by the Chief of local communities and Ivanhoe founder Robert Friedland.

“The ceremony today is not just a ritual; it is the passing of a torch representing transformative change at Kamoa-Kakula … From a site where we first discovered high-grade copper in 2008, we now harness a fire blessed by tradition to power a facility that will set a new global standard for copper smelting,” Friedland stated during the event.

Shares of Ivanhoe Mines traded flat at around C$14.70 apiece, with a market capitalization of approximately C$20.8 billion ($14.9 billion).

Anode production by year-end

Ivanhoe expects to feed its first concentrate into the smelter by year-end, kickstarting the production of 99.7%-pure blister copper anodes.

Kamoa-Kakula’s management team anticipates that the on-site smelter will prioritize processing all concentrates produced by the Phase 1, 2 and 3 concentrators. Any excess copper concentrates will be transported and treated at the nearby Lualaba smelter in Kolwezi.

Prior to the start of production, the copper complex had an inventory of approximately 37,000 tonnes on site, according to Ivanhoe. As the smelter ramps up during 2026, it estimates that total copper inventory will be reduced to approximately 17,000 tonnes.

At full capacity, Ivanhoe said the 500,000-tpa smelter would be the largest on the continent. It would also be the greenest, backed by the direct-to-blister flash smelting technology supplied by Metso Outotec and renewable hydroelectric power from the nearby Inga II dam.