Ivanhoe Mines has begun the start-up of its 500,000-tonnes-per-annum direct-to-blister copper smelter at the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), marking a major milestone for one of the world’s fastest-growing mining operations.
The heat-up phase began on November 21, 2025, following a culturally significant ceremony led by local traditional authorities.
The company expects the first feed of copper concentrate to enter the furnace before the end of the year. Production guidance for 2026 and 2027 is expected to be released later this week.
Traditional ‘First Fire’ Opens New Smelter
The opening ceremony began at a traditional copper furnace known locally as a lwanzo lwa mikuba where the Chief of Land Muvunda and his team prepared the fire according to custom. Honourable Chief Musokantanda Sabuni Kafweku offered a blessing, during which symbolic Katanga Crosses were smelted.
Chief Musokantanda then carried a flame from the traditional furnace to the new smelter complex, where it was handed to Ivanhoe Mines’ Founder and Executive Co-Chairman, Robert Friedland.
The flame was used to light a ceremonial torch, which was passed among senior members of Ivanhoe Mines and Kamoa Copper before being placed inside the smelter furnace to initiate heat-up.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony followed, attended by employees and community members gathered near the casting wheels that are expected to begin producing 99.7% copper anodes by year end.
‘A Transformative Moment’ for DRC Mining
Speaking at the opening, Friedland described the event as a symbolic and technical milestone.
“This ceremony is the passing of a torch representing transformative change at Kamoa-Kakula,” he said. “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.”
He added that the start-up marks a “major step forward” not only for the operation, but for the Lualaba Province and the Congolese mining sector more broadly.
Kamoa-Kakula Managing Director Annebel Oosthuizen paid tribute to the workforce: “This day belongs to every Kamoa Copper employee. You built this. We fired it up. This is our collective success. The fire we lit today is the light that will change the future for our community, our country, and the African continent.”
Heat-Up Advancing, With First Concentrate Feed Imminent
The smelter heat-up is progressing steadily, with the furnace temperature already at 800°C. Operators will hold this temperature for roughly nine days while commissioning work continues on the boiler, steam systems, and the concentrate dryer. At the same time, the furnace electrodes and the acid circuit will be brought online.
Kamoa-Kakula plans to prioritize processing concentrate from its Phase 1, 2 and 3 concentrators at the on-site smelter. Any excess material will be toll-treated at the nearby Lualaba Copper Smelter (LCS) in Kolwezi.
Ahead of the start-up, Kamoa-Kakula had approximately 37,000 tonnes of copper contained in concentrate in its on-site inventory. As the smelter ramps up through 2026, unsold concentrate in stockpiles and within the smelting circuit is expected to fall to roughly 17,000 tonnes.
Power Infrastructure Nears Completion
Commissioning of the smelter coincides with the near-completion of a 60-megawatt uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system designed to protect operations from voltage fluctuations on the DRC’s national grid. The UPS system can provide up to two hours of instantaneous backup power.
In addition, the site has approximately 180 MW of installed diesel generator capacity to support continuous operations.
Once fully operational, the Kamoa-Kakula smelter is expected to become the largest copper smelter in Africa.
Technical Review and Compliance
All scientific and technical information in the news release has been reviewed and approved by Steve Amos, Ivanhoe Mines’ Executive Vice President of Projects and a Qualified Person under NI 43-101.
The company’s NI 43-101-compliant Kamoa-Kakula Integrated Development Plan 2023 Technical Report—prepared by multiple engineering and consulting firms—remains available on Ivanhoe Mines’ website and on SEDAR+. The report includes detailed analysis of the power balance and other operational factors relevant to the smelter commissioning.
About Ivanhoe Mines
Ivanhoe Mines is a Canadian mining company advancing three major projects in Southern Africa: the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex and Kipushi Mine in the DRC, and the Platreef Mine in South Africa.
The company is also conducting extensive copper exploration in the Western Forelands, an area more than six times larger than Kamoa-Kakula and pursuing new sedimentary copper discoveries in Angola, Kazakhstan, and Zambia.
This article was first published on Ivanhoe Mines
