The Kamoa-Kakula copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo has posted record daily copper production of 729 tonnes, bringing year-to-date production to 63,000 tonnes.

A record 16,211 tonnes of copper in concentrate was produced in the reporting month ending Oct. 20. The Phase 1 production target of 16,666 tonnes per month.

Kamoa-Kakula is a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines (39.6%), Zijin Mining Group (39.6%), Crystal River Global (0.8%), and the government of the DRC (20%).

The mine began commercial production in July, and 2021 production guidance has been raised to 90,000 to 95,000 tonnes.

The concentrator plant is nearing the completion of its Phase 1 development. The second concentrate filter press, installed in October, is fully operational. The second filter removes a bottleneck to allow the plant to process ore from Kakula's underground mining operations and surface stockpiles.

The construction of the Phase 2 3.8-million-tonnes-per-annum concentration plant is 60% complete, Ivanhoe said. Engineering and procurement are nearly complete, as is fabrication. Construction is underway of structural steel, and platework and equipment installation. Ball mills are in place, with mill installation anticipated by the end of 2021.

In October, a water-bearing structure was intersected, which caused localised flooding at the mine. The mine has now been mostly dewatered.

Kamoa-Kakula is projected to produce 200,000 tonnes of copper per year, with Phase 2 expansion projected to produce 400,000 tonnes of copper per year.