Modern Mining May 2018

MINING News

Upgrading of Kipushi mine now well advanced

1 150‑metre level, between the Big Zinc access decline and Shaft 5. Based on the findings of an indepen- dent, pre-feasibility study (PFS) issued in December 2017, Kipushi is expected to have average annual production of 381 000 tonnes of zinc concentrate over an 11-year initial mine life at a total cash cost of approximately US$0,48 per pound of zinc. The PFS focuses on the initial mining of Kipushi’s Big Zinc orebody, which has an estimated 10,2 Mt of measured and indi- cated mineral resources grading 34,9 % zinc. The planned return to production would establish Kipushi as the world’s highest-grade, major zinc mine. The project is located adjacent to the town of Kipushi and approximately 30 km south-west of Lubumbashi. Ivanhoe acquired its 68 % interest in the project in November 2011; the balance of 32 % is held by the DRC’s state-owned mining company, Gécamines. 

New rollers being installed on the ore conveyor on Kipushi’s 1 150-metre-level as part of the infrastruc- ture upgrading programme (photo: Ivanhoe).

Reporting on its Kipushi copper-zinc- germanium-lead mine in the DRC in its results for the first quarter of 2018, TSX- listed Ivanhoe Mines says it has completed the upgrading of a significant amount of underground infrastructure at the pro­ ject, including a series of vertical mine shafts to various depths, with associated head frames, as well as underground mine excavations. A series of crosscuts and ven- tilation infrastructure are still in working condition. The underground infrastructure also includes a series of pumps to manage the influx of water into the mine. Shaft 5, the main production shaft for the historic Kipushi mine, is 8 m in diam- eter and 1 240 m deep. It has now been upgraded and re-commissioned. The main personnel and material winder has been upgraded and modernised to meet international industry standards and safety criteria. The Shaft 5 rock-hoisting winder is now fully operational.

Underground upgrading work is continuing on the crusher and the rock load-out facilities at the bottom of Shaft 5 and on the main haulage way on the

Regular maintenance of one of the Grifo pumps at the 1 200-metre-level pump station (photo: Ivanhoe).

May 2018  MODERN MINING  13