KOLWEZI, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO – Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN;OTCQX:IVPAF) Co-Chairs Robert Friedland and Yufeng “Miles” Sun announced today that underground development at the Kakula Copper Mine continues to advance ahead of schedule with more than 15.4 kilometres now complete, which is 4.7 kilometres ahead of plan.

 

Major development at the Kakula Mine currently is primarily in ore with an average grade of approximately 8% copper. 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. An adjacent medium-grade stockpile contains approximately 306,000 tonnes grading an estimated 3.06% copper.

 

According to the Processing plant construction, the the two ball mills, which is supplied by CITIC HIV， are being transported to Kamoa-Kakula in three separate shipments. One shipment is on the road between Durban and Kamoa-Kakula; one shipment is on a cargo ship and expected to arrive at Durban on June 18th; and the third shipment is scheduled to depart Shanghai, China on June 18th.

 

In parallel with the construction of Kamoa-Kakula’s phase 1 Kakula Mine, work is progressing on the independent Kakula definitive feasibility study (DFS) and an updated Integrated Development Plan for the entire Kamoa-Kakula mining complex, which is expected to be issued in mid-2020. The Kakula DFS will provide an increased level of accuracy for the project economics for the initial phase of mine development at Kakula. The Integrated Development Plan will include details on the planned expansion phases for the greater Kamoa-Kakula mining complex, incorporating updates for mineral resources, production rates and economic analysis.