Kipoi copper project moves closer to production

Tiger Resources (TGS-T, TGS-A) says commercial production will begin in April at its Kipoi copper project in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The project consists of an open pit mine with a crushing and heavy media separation plant.

Construction is on time and budget and the company expects to complete the plant and start commissioning the mine in March.

The primary crusher and three generators have recently been delivered to site and more than 70 technical personnel are completing the installation of pipes and electrical wiring. The processing facility is estimated to be about 95% completed, the company says.

The Kipoi project is 75 km northwest of Lubumbashi in Katanga province.

Production is forecast at about 35,000 tonnes of copper per year during the first three years in its first stage of development

The project hosts at least five known deposits: Kipoi Central, Kipoi North, Kileba, Judeira and Kaminafitwe.

Kipoi Central, the main deposit, contains a zone of high-grade copper within a much larger, lower grade, global resource.

The company proposes to develop Kipoi in stages with the high-grade zone at Kipoi Central scheduled for Stage I.

During Stage 1, a total of 900,000 tonnes per year of 7% copper is expected to be processed through the HMS plant, producing the equivalent of 35,000 tonnes of copper a year.

The company is undertaking a feasibility study to evaluate the viability of constructing an SXEW plant in Stage 2 of the project to produce LME-grade copper cathode, which if approved would come on stream about three years after the start of the HMS operation.

Ore from Kipoi Central, Kipoi North and Kileba South, and the other deposits within the Kipoi project and within the nearby Lupoto project would be processed during the second stage of development.