Kipushi, Democratic Republic Congo -
The ground-breaking ceremony was attended by His Excellency Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde, Prime Minister of the
The Kipushi 2022 Feasibility Study evaluates the development of an 800,000-tonne-per-annum concentrator and underground mine, producing on average of 240,000 tonnes per annum of zinc contained in concentrate over a 14-year life of mine. The successful commencement of commercial production would establish Kipushi as the world's highest-grade major zinc mine, with an average head grade of 36.4% zinc over the first five years of production.
Existing, rehabilitated surface and underground infrastructure allow for significantly lower capital costs than comparable development projects. The estimated pre-production capital cost, including contingency, is
At a zinc price of
Life-of-mine average C1 cash costs of
Ordering of long-lead equipment is underway and early construction activities have commenced. Financing and offtake discussions, including a pre-payment facility of
'Kipushi is exceptional, not only because of the renowned Big Zinc deposit, which is one of the world's richest orebodies, but more importantly because of the people of Kipushi and the unique partnerships that make today's ceremony possible. I would like to express our sincere thanks to His Excellency the Prime Minister and the assembled dignitaries, our partners Gecamines, the hard-working employees of KICO, and the people of Kipushi town for being the architects of the future for the world-class
His Excellency Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde, DRC Prime Minister, commented:
'It is with great satisfaction we now see the path toward the revival of this historic mine. Kipushi started production almost one hundred years ago in 1924, and I believe today is a sign of things to come. We can make Kipushi great again! This will benefit not only KICO, but also the citizens of Kipushi and the entire
Memorandum of understanding signed with Province of Haut-Katanga to study the upgrade of the Kipushi border crossing
On
This new commercial border crossing will provide a significant advantage to the
The opening of the Kipushi border crossing also is anticipated to provide ancillary benefits to Kamoa-Kakula, where work is underway to improve processes for clearing copper products for export and to open alternative export border crossings between the DRC and
The re-birth of a mining legend; Kipushi is a significant past producer of copper, zinc, germanium and precious metals
Over a span of 69 years, Kipushi produced a total of 6.6 million tonnes of zinc and 4.0 million tonnes of copper from 60 million tonnes of ore grading 11% zinc and approximately 7% copper. It also produced 278 tonnes of germanium and 12,673 tonnes of lead between 1956 and 1978. There is no formal record of the production of precious metals as the concentrate was shipped to
Germanium is considered a technology-critical element, and is used as a semiconductor in transistors and many other electronic devices and technologies.
Currently, major end uses for germanium include fibre-optic systems, infrared optics, high-efficiency photovoltaic solar panels, and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Germanium compounds are also used for polymerization catalysts and have most recently found use in the production of nanowires, as well as in the development of ultrafast quantum computing applications and communication technologies.
Most of Kipushi's historical production was from the
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Forward-looking statements
Certain statements in this release constitute 'forward-looking statements' or 'forward-looking information' within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company, its projects, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as 'may', 'would', 'could', 'will', 'intend', 'expect', 'believe', 'plan', 'anticipate', 'estimate', 'scheduled', 'forecast', 'predict' and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events or results 'may', 'could', 'would', 'might' or 'will' be taken, occur or be achieved. These statements reflect the company's current expectations regarding future events, performance and results and speak only as of the date of this release.
Such statements include without limitation, the timing and results of: (i) statements regarding a two year development timeline to bring Kipushi to commercial production; (ii) statements regarding successful commencement of commercial production would establish Kipushi as the world's highest-grade major zinc mine with average grade of 36.4% over the first five years of production; (iii) statements regarding Kipushi having an after-tax net present value at an 8% real discount rate of
As well, all of the results of the Kipushi 2022 feasibility study, constitute forward-looking statements or information, and include future estimates of internal rates of return, net present value, future production, estimates of cash cost, proposed mining plans and methods, mine life estimates, cash flow forecasts, metal recoveries, estimates of capital and operating costs and the size and timing of development of the project. Furthermore, with respect to this specific forward-looking information concerning the development of the
Forward-looking statements and information involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indicators of whether or not such results will be achieved. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements or information, including, but not limited to, the factors discussed below and under 'Risk Factors', and elsewhere in this release, as well as unexpected changes in laws, rules or regulations, or their enforcement by applicable authorities; the failure of parties to contracts with the company to perform as agreed; social or labour unrest; changes in commodity prices; and the failure of exploration programs or studies to deliver anticipated results or results that would justify and support continued exploration, studies, development or operations.
Although the forward-looking statements contained in this release are based upon what management of the company believes are reasonable assumptions, the company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this release and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Subject to applicable securities laws, the company does not assume any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this release.
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