Canadian mining company Ivanhoe Mines has confirmed the start of the heat-up of the 500 000 t/y direct-to-blister copper smelter at its joint venture Kamoa-Kakula complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with the first feed of concentrate into the smelter expected by year-end.

The company noted in a December 1 media statement that the milestone was celebrated on November 21 with a traditional blessing by the Chief of Kamoa-Kakula's local communities, Musokantanda Sabuni Kafweku.

The opening ceremony of the copper smelter started at a traditional copper furnace, called an lwanzo lwa mikuba, at a site near the smelter. The lwanzo lwa mikuba was prepared by the Chief of Land Muvunda and his team, as per tradition, and Honourable Chief Kafweku provided a blessing while commemorative Katanga Crosses of copper were smelted.

Chief Kafweku then took the flame from the lwanzo lwa mikuba and carried it from the traditional site to the smelter at Kamoa-Kakula, where the flame was handed over to Ivanhoe Mines founder and co-chairperson Robert Friedland, who lit a ceremonial torch.

The ceremonial torch was then passed around to members of the senior management team from Ivanhoe Mines and Kamoa Copper, as well as team members instrumental in the smelter’s construction, before being placed inside the smelter furnace, providing the ignition source for its heat-up.

“The ceremony today is not just a ritual; it is the passing of a torch representing transformative change at Kamoa-Kakula. 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.

“We are witnessing a significant milestone for Kamoa-Kakula, the Lualaba province and the broader Congolese mining industry . . . we have taken a major step forward in the production of clean, sustainable copper in the DRC," Friedland commented during the opening ceremony.

Ivanhoe reported in its December 1 statement that heat-up of the smelter was advancing well, with the furnace temperature at 800 °C. The furnace temperature would be held at this level for nine days, while hot commissioning of the boiler, steam systems and the concentrate dryer is completed.

In addition, the powering up of the furnace electrodes and commissioning of the acid circuit would also take place at the same time.

Meanwhile, the installation of a 60 MW uninterruptible power supply (UPS) facility, with has been designed to provide up to two hours of instantaneous back-up power to the smelter, was nearing completion. The UPS would protect the operation from voltage fluctuations in the domestic DRC grid.

In addition to the UPS, Kamoa-Kakula has about 180 MW of on-site diesel-powered, back-up generator capacity.

Ivanhoe said the Kamoa-Kakula management team expected to prioritise the processing of concentrates produced by the Phase 1, 2, and 3 concentrators through the on-site smelter, with any excess concentrate to be toll-treated at the nearby Lualaba copper smelter, in Kolwezi.

Prior to start-up, Kamoa-Kakula’s on-site concentrate inventory contained about 37 000 t of copper. Total unsold copper in concentrate at the smelter, held in stockpiles and the smelting circuit, is expected to be reduced to about 17 000 t during 2026 as the smelter fully ramps up.

Ivanhoe noted that, once ramped up, the smelter would be the largest and greenest copper smelter in Africa.