Ivanhoe Mines announced the start of copper concentrate production at the Phase 1, 3.8 million-tonne-per-annum (Mtpa) Kamoa-Kakula Mine, on May 25th, several months ahead of schedule. First ore was introduced into the concentrator plant on May 20th to perform initial hot commissioning tests on the ball mills and other processing equipment. The initial mill feed grade reached approximately 4% copper shortly after start-up. As of May 25th, 5% to 6% copper ore is being conveyed directly from Kakula's underground mining operations to the run-of-mine stockpile and the concentrator. Based on extensive testwork, the concentrator is expected to produce a very high-grade, clean concentrate grading approximately 57% copper, with extremely low arsenic levels. The company plans to provide an update on Phase 1 copper concentrate off-take arrangements in the near term. In April, the Kakula Mine mined 357,000 tonnes of ore grading 5.70% copper, including 121,000 tonnes grading 8.40% copper from the mine's high-grade centre. The company will update May's production in early June, and will continue with its practice of monthly progress updates. Kakula is projected to be the world's highest-grade major copper mine, with an initial mining rate of 3.8 Mtpa, ramping up to 7.6 Mtpa in third quarter of 2022. Phase 1 is expected to produce approximately 200,000 tonnes of copper per year, and phases 1 and 2 combined are forecast to produce approximately 400,000 tonnes of copper per year. Based on independent benchmarking, the project's phased expansion scenario to 19 Mtpa would position Kamoa-Kakula as the world's second-largest copper mining complex, with peak annual copper production of more than 800,000 tonnes. Given the current copper price environment, Ivanhoe and its partner Zijin are exploring the acceleration of the Kamoa-Kakula Phase 3 concentrator expansion from 7.6 Mtpa to 11.4 Mtpa, which may be fed from expanded mining operations at Kansoko, or new mining areas at Kamoa North (including the Bonanza Zone) and Kakula West. A 2020 independent audit of Kamoa-Kakula's greenhouse gas intensity metrics performed by Hatch Ltd. of Mississauga, Canada, confirmed that the project will be among the world's lowest greenhouse gas emitters per unit of copper produced. The Kamoa-Kakula Copper Project is a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines (39.6%), Zijin Mining Group (39.6%), Crystal River Global Limited (0.8%) and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (20%).