Ivanhoe shares rise on hydropower boost, output

Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN; US-OTC: IVPAF) says its Kamoa-Kakula copper complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo has reached a “major turning point” following a sizeable increase in imported hydroelectric power in recent weeks enabling the start-up of its new on-site smelter.

According to the Vancouver-headquartered miner, the amount of imported hydroelectric power at Kamoa increased by 40% — or 20 megawatts (MW) — to 70 MW in mid-March, and is expected to increase further to 100 MW over coming weeks.

Kamoa has been drawing 50 MW of domestically generated hydroelectricity and another 50 MW from imports to power the three-phased operation, which requires 130 to 140 MW to run. The balance of the required power was generated from on-site.

The increase in imported hydroelectric power meant Ivanhoe could now begin the commissioning of its direct-to-blister copper smelter. The initial heat-up process is set to begin next month. The company aims to achieve first production of 99.7% copper anode in July, then ramp up to 80% capacity by year-end.

The new 500,000-tonne-per-annum plant would “significantly reduce” the company’s C1 cash costs due to a more than 50% decrease in transportation costs, Ivanhoe founder and co-chairman Robert Friedland said in a press release. Once ramped up, the smelter is expected to hold about 17,000 tonnes of copper within its circuit.

“We are delighted that Kamoa-Kakula’s growing pains, which led to power challenges, are behind us following our successful efforts to secure additional imported hydroelectricity,” Friedland said. “More imported hydroelectric power from the Southern Africa Power Pool [is] on its way very soon.”

First quarter output

The increased hydropower at Kamoa coincided with record production from the final two weeks of March, at an annualized rate of 630,000 tonnes, above the company’s 2025 guidance. For the entire quarter, Kamoa’s copper production came near a record high at 133,120 tonnes, for an annualized production rate of 550,000 tonnes.

The performance, according to Ivanhoe, was underpinned by initiatives implemented earlier in the quarter that enabled the stage three concentrator to be consistently fed at higher rates than originally designed. The stage one and two concentrators also outperformed during the quarter, despite operations being hampered by maintenance shutdowns in the first half of March.

Given these results, the company has maintained Kamoa’s annual production guidance of 520,000 to 580,000 tonnes of copper.

Kipushi zinc

Meanwhile, the Kipushi zinc mine, also in the DRC, produced a record 42,736 tonnes of zinc during the first quarter, having achieved ramp-up to nameplate capacity in February.

For Kipushi, Ivanhoe is also maintaining its annual production guidance of 180,000 to 240,000 tonnes of zinc.

Ivanhoe Mines gained 13% to close at $11.15 apiece in Toronto Monday on the back of the quarterly production results.  The share rise represents a contrast to the performance of many other big copper miners during the market rout.

On Tuesday, as global markets turned to the plus side on the potential of tariff deals, Ivanhoe gained another 3% to $11.50 in morning trading.