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Project overview
Katanga Mining Limited operates a major copper-cobalt mine complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC). The company’s operations are located near Kolwezi in the Katanga Province in the southeast of the country, approximately 300 kilometres northwest of Lubumbashi.
Katanga produced the first copper cathode from its Kamoto Joint Venture in December 2007 following the completion of phase one of a planned four-phase refurbishment of the brownfield
mine complex.
Katanga completed a merger with Nikanor in January 2008,
reuniting two adjacent concessions in the DRC which used to be part of the same mine complex. A four-year phased ramp up will see the combined operation targeting
over 300,000 tonnes of refined copper and over 30,000 tonnes of refined cobalt
a year by 2011.
The mine complex’s key assets include the
Kamoto Underground Mine and
KOV open pit mine, providing both oxide and sulfide ores.
The Kamoto Concentrator and
Luilu Metallurgical Plant, together with a planned new
SX-EW refinery, enable the production of refined copper and cobalt onsite. The company also has a number of
other mines and plants.
The year 2008 will see plans to combine the assets of the two companies fully defined. A scoping study is being carried out and a full feasibility study will be published in Q3 2008. Initial plans for maximizing the synergies from the
combined assets can be viewed here.
Meanwhile, during 2008, Phase II of the rehabilitation of the Kamoto Joint Venture
will continue alongside operations at the former Nikanor assets,
including the dewatering of the KOV pit.
Total reserves and resources for the combined assets stand at 239 million tonnes at 4.45
per cent copper and 0.44
per cent cobalt (measured & indicated mineral resources, which includes proven & probable reserves and excludes inferred resources), indicating a potential mine life of 40+ years.
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