Vervolg:
The zinc-rich mineral resource at Kipushi tallies to 11.8 million measured and indicated tonnes running 35.34% zinc for 9.2 billion contained lb. zinc, 8.7 million oz. silver and 24.4 million oz. germanium. Meanwhile, the copper-rich resource is 2.3 million tonnes grading 4.03% copper.
The resource will be included in an upcoming definitive feasibility study due later this year, or early in 2020.
Ten years ago, production of the red metal in the DRC fell to 50,000 tonnes annually, down from a previous peak of 500,000 tonnes, mostly owing to warring factions and civil unrest.
Copper production in the DRC is well above 1 million tonnes annually, with more to come.
Louis Watum, managing director of the Ivanhoe’s operations in the DRC, says the country has mostly moved beyond its recent bouts of unrest.
“I keep saying to people who want to invest in the DRC: prospective investors must do their homework and understand the country, how it works,” Watum said, during a recent DRC Mining Week webinar.
“I do not see the DRC going back to war, or where really everything will break down. We have recovered from a very bloody and costly war, and there is no more appetite to fund any war, per se. We might have sporadic pockets of insecurity, but generally, the mining districts are very safe to invest in,” Watum added.
Meanwhile, the DRC is developing a new mining code that could impact companies by raising royalties and taxes on foreign companies operating mines in the country.
In January 2018, initial speculation regarding the new mining code shaved 15% from Ivanhoe’s share price. Any changes in the mining code have yet to be made public.
In South Africa, Ivanhoe is developing the Platreef palladium-platinum-nickel-copper-gold-rhodium discovery in South Africa at a 780-metre depth.
The orebody is 29 metres thick at Shaft 1. Sinking will continue to 982 metres. The Platreef mining team delivered the first ore from the underground mine development to surface stockpiles for metallurgical sampling.
Surface construction for Platreef’s Shaft 2 continues. Construction now focuses on the concrete hitch for the headframe, which could be ready by mid-2019.
Shaft 2 will be equipped with two 40-tonne, rock-hoisting skips, with a capacity to hoist 6 million tonnes of ore per year — the largest hoisting capacity at any mine in Africa.
A definitive feasibility study published in July 2017 said that the Platreef mine would produce platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold at cash costs of $351 per oz., net of by-products, including sustaining capital costs.
In a research note dated May 21, 2019, BMO metals and mining analyst Andrew Mikitchook had a 12-month target price on Ivanhoe of $9.
At press time, Ivanhoe traded at $3.46, in a 52-week range of $2 to $3.62. The company’s market capitalization is $3.52 billion.