Ivanhoe posts record Kipushi zinc as Kamoa copper output recovers

Ivanhoe Mines reported record quarterly zinc production and steadying copper output from its Democratic Republic of Congo operations in the third quarter, as the company's recovery from earlier flooding at Kamoa-Kakula continued to build momentum.

The Vancouver-based miner extracted 71,226 tonnes of copper and a record 57,200 tonnes of zinc during the quarter from its Kamoa-Kakula and Kipushi mines respectively. Copper production remained aligned with full-year guidance of 370,000 to 420,000 tonnes as operations shifted to higher-grade zones in Kakula's western section. Zinc output at Kipushi jumped 37% quarter-on-quarter after initiatives to remove processing bottlenecks and lift throughput, establishing the mine among the world's leading zinc producers.

Building back from the flood

The results followed a difficult first half in which seismic activity at Kakula had disrupted underground operations and reduced copper grades available to the concentrators. Ivanhoe said it had since intensified recovery efforts, and confirmed it was in discussions with sovereign wealth funds to help finance expansion plans and position Kamoa-Kakula as a premier global copper source, following the $500m investment secured from Qatar's fund the previous month.

A quarter of stabilisation

For a project that had spent much of the year lurching from one downgrade to the next, holding output within its own reduced guidance range counted as a genuine achievement. The record zinc performance at Kipushi, in particular, demonstrated that Ivanhoe's DRC portfolio retained pockets of strong operational execution even while its flagship copper asset worked through a slow, expensive rehabilitation. Still, the nine-month copper total of 316,393 tonnes left the company on track, rather than comfortably ahead, of its already-lowered full-year target — a reminder that stabilisation, not a full return to form, remained the most Kamoa-Kakula could offer investors for the time being. Ivanhoe said it was also in discussions with sovereign wealth funds about further financing to support the mine's expansion, a sign that management still saw a path back to its original growth ambitions even as the near-term numbers told a more modest story.

Sources

• Miningmx: Ivanhoe achieves record zinc output from Congo mines, 07 Oct 2025
• Mining.com: Ivanhoe hits record zinc output at Kipushi mine, 07 Oct 2025

Photo: Electrolytic copper processing racks at a refinery in the DRC's copperbelt. Gécamines (Zairian company), Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.