Ivanhoe’s Kakula could become world’s second-largest copper operation: study

Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN; NYSE: US-OTC: IVPAF) has published the results of an independent definitive feasibility study (DFS) for its Kakula project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which says the asset could become the world’s second-largest copper mining complex. Kakula, the first underground mine planned at the Kamoa-Kakula concession, is forecast to generate six million tonnes of mineralized material per year at an average feed grade of 6.6% copper over the first five years of operation, the study shows. Ivanhoe said the document is an independent verification by nine of the world’s top engineering firms of Kakula’s robust economics. “The definitive feasibility study also confirms what we’ve been telling investors for the past year and a half, and showcasing monthly in our progress galleries – the Kakula mine is being rapidly built, it is ahead of schedule, and is on budget,” Robert Friedland, the company’s founder and executive co-chairman, said in a Sept. 8 press release.