Name and Location
Kamoa copper project, Katanga, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Client
Ivanhoe Mines and China’s Zijin Mining Group have agreed to co-develop the Kamoa copper discovery.

Under the terms of the agreement, Zijin, through its subsidiary Gold Mountains International Mining, will buy a 49.5% interest in Kamoa Holding – an Ivanhoe subsidiary that owns 95% of the Kamoa project – for $412-million.

Zijin will make an initial cash payment of $206-million upon closing the transaction, which was expected at the end of July, subject to Zijin’s receiving approval from the government of the People’s Republic of China.

In addition, Ivanhoe has agreed to sell 1% of its interest in Kamoa Holding to Hong Kong-based Crystal River Global for $8.32-million. Kamoa Holding, an Ivanhoe Mines subsidiary, currently owns 95% of the Kamoa project.

Zijin, meanwhile, has committed to arranging or procuring project financing for 65% of the capital required to develop the first phase of the Kamoa project, as set out in the feasibility study.

Upon the successful arrangement or procurement of project financing, Zijin will have the right to acquire Crystal River’s 1% interest in Kamoa Holding.

The agreements have also provided that, upon exercising the 1% option for an amount to be determined by an independent expert valuator, Zijin will be required to arrange or procure project financing for all the subsequent phases of the Kamoa project.

Since 65% of the preproduction capital required to develop the first phase of Kamoa will be funded through project financing, the remaining 35% of the required capital will be funded pro rata by the shareholders.

Therefore, Zijin and Ivanhoe will each be required to fund 17.5% of the remaining first-phase development costs.

Project Description
The Kamoa project is a large, stratiform copper deposit, with adjacent prospective exploration areas within the Central African Copperbelt, about 25 km west of the town of Kolwezi and about 270 km west of the provincial capital of Lubumbashi.

As of January 2013, Ivanhoe Mines had discovered indicated mineral resources of 739-million tonnes grading 2.67% copper, containing 43.5-billion pounds of copper, and inferred mineral resources of 227-million tonnes grading 1.96% copper, containing 9.8-billion pounds of copper. A 1% copper cutoff grade and a minimum vertical mining thickness of 3 m were applied in each classification.

Key elements have been established for a new study to encourage the cost-effective development of a mine and processing plant at the Kamoa copper discovery.

Ivanhoe is proposing two principal phases for development:
• Phase 1 will target production of high-grade copper mineralisation from shallow, underground resources to yield a high-value concentrate. Initial mill feed will come from Kansoko Sud and will lead into the Centrale area of Kamoa’s gently-dipping mineralised zones, which collectively contain estimated indicated resources of 224-million tonnes, grading 3.85% copper at a 3% copper cutoff and a minimum 3 m vertical mining thickness.
• Phase 2 entails a major expansion of the mine and mill, as well as the construction of a large smelter, supported by the full extent of the Kamoa resources.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
Not stated.

Duration
If confirmed by current studies and financial modelling, copper production from Kamoa’s first phase of development could start in 2017, subject to available financing.

Latest Developments
Ivanhoe is forging ahead with its Kamoa copper mine, which is in the early stages of development.

Phase 1 will involve stockpile and crushing, while Phase 2 will result in buying the project’s first modern smelter. The plant is expected to produce 300 000 t/y of copper in the second phase.

“If we can get hydroelectric power from the DRC, then there’s no reason why we won’t be able to produce one-million tonnes of copper a year,” Ivanhoe mine executive chairperson and founder Robert Friedland has said.

He has added that young, local professionals will be hired to work at Kamoa.

He has said that the DRC will be well on its way to a revitalised copper industry, which could be further boosted by the Kakula exploration area – another ”spectacular” discovery – even thicker and higher grade than Kamoa.

In February this year, Ivanhoe announced that it had made a new Tier 1, high-grade and flat-lying layered copper discovery in the Kakula exploration area, about 5 km south-west of the currently defined resources at the Kamoa copper deposit.

The company has advised that the new discovery is ideally situated for low-cost mechanised mining.

The Kakula discovery is situated within the 400 km2 Kamoa mining licence area and represents a significant extension of the Kamoa copper deposit.

Two exploration drill holes completed in late 2015 in the Kakula exploration area — DKMC_DD996 and DKMC_DD997 — rank among the highest-grade and highest-grade-thickness intersections drilled to date within the Kamoa copper deposit licence area.

Ivanhoe plans to complete an 800-m-spacing infill grid over the Kakula discovery area this year.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Hatch (development study) and Mining Company Katanga (construction of boxcut).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Ivanhoe investor relations Bill Trenaman, tel +1 604 688 6630 or email billtr@ivancorp.net.