Zijin News on 11^th November 2020, The main access tunnels between the northern and southern declines at the Kakula Mine of Zijin Mining in DRC were connected in the high-grade core of the deposit. The initial joinning of tunnels improves underground ventilation and enables entry into high-grade ore from both sides of the deposit for mining crews. This connection of tunnels has opened up the first two high grade, drift-and-fill mining blocks totalling 10.6 million tonnes at an average grade of 6.78% copper (5.7 million tonnes @ 7.04% copper and 4.9 million tonnes @ 6.48% copper) near the centre of the deposit. These two blocks alone contain more than 700,000 tonnes of in-situ copper. With copper trading at approximately US$7,000 a tonne, the saleable value of the copper concentrate produced from these initial two blocks exceeds the estimated capital cost to develop both the first and second phases of production at Kamoa-Kakula.

Kakula mine is the first of multiple, high grade, underground copper mines to be developed on the project’s 400-square-kilometre mining licence. The second set of connection drives is expected to complete by June 2021, opening up an additional high-grade and medium-grade mining block. The overall ore available for mining will increase to approximately 26 million tonnes.Phase 1 development of Kamoa Kakula project has completed around 58% with first production of copper concentrate in July 2021. The project’s phased expansion scenario to 19 Mtpa would position Kamoa-Kakula as the world’s second-largest copper mining complex, with peak annual copper production of more than 800,000 tonnes.

A recent, independent audit of Kamoa-Kakula's greenhouse gas intensity metrics performed by Hatch Ltd. of Mississauga, Canada, confirmed that the project will be among the world's lowest greenhouse gas emitters per unit of copper produced.

À propos de Zijin Mining
Zijin Mining est une entreprise mondiale leader dans le secteur des métaux et de l'exploitation minière, et l'un des plus grands producteurs mondiaux d'or, de cuivre et de zinc. La société compte plus de 30 sites miniers et projets d'envergure répartis dans 19 pays sur 5 continents. Grâce à ses solides capacités internes en matière de recherche, d'ingénierie et de développement, Zijin maintient une efficacité opérationnelle élevée à moindre coût, tant pour les acquisitions que pour les opérations. Cette approche lui permet de se positionner en tant que leader de la création de valeur, guidée par une philosophie de développement pour tous et soutenue par des performances exemplaires en matière d'environnement, de responsabilité sociale et de gouvernance. Les actions de Zijin sont cotées à la Bourse de Hong Kong (HKEX : 2899) et à la Bourse de Shanghai (SSE : 601899).