Kakula mine construction still ahead of schedule

Kakula copper mine, DRC. Image from Ivanhoe.

Ivanhoe Mines (TSE: IVN) co-chairs Robert Friedland and Yufeng Sun announced this week that underground development at the Kakula copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) continues to advance ahead of schedule, with more than 15.4 kilometres (9.5 miles) now complete, or 4.7 kilometres (2.9 miles) ahead of plan.

In May, the mining team set its fifth consecutive monthly development record of 1,868 metres of underground advancement - 535 metres ahead of plan for the month.

A major development currently is primarily in ore with an average grade of approximately 8% copper

Kakula's high-grade, pre-production ore stockpile was forecasted in May to contain 105,000 tonnes grading 5.95% copper.

A major development currently is primarily in ore with an average grade of approximately 8% copper, Ivanhoe said. This ore is being placed on a dedicated, high-grade surface stockpile that now totals approximately 51,000 tonnes grading an estimated 5.86% copper.

The Vancouver-based miner said about 100 truckloads of equipment for the processing plant are en route to Kakula from the port of Durban, South Africa.

Friday midday, Ivanhoe's stock was trading up 2.8% on the TSE. The company has a C$4.3 billion market capitalization.