(Ecofin Agency) - First commissioned in 1924, the Kipushi mine has been on care and maintenance since 1993. Gécamines and Canada's Ivanhoe Mines announced plans to restart the mine in 2022, focusing on a major zinc deposit.

On July 2, Ivanhoe Mines confirmed the restart of the Kipushi zinc-copper-lead-germanium mine, which it jointly owns with Gécamines in the DRC. This mine, inactive for 31 years, is expected to produce between 100,000 and 140,000 tonnes of zinc concentrate by 2024. 

#News - @IvanhoeMines_ completes construction of Kipushi concentrator ahead of schedule.?First feed of ore into the new concentrator was achieved on May 31, 2024. Read full news release: https://t.co/7vbADws5Uz pic.twitter.com/pgjycEom2U

— Ivanhoe Mines (@IvanhoeMines_) July 2, 2024

During the first five years, annual zinc production is projected to reach 278,000 tonnes, making Kipushi the world's fourth-largest zinc mine. In 2023, the DRC officially exported 11,321 tonnes of zinc metal. Agreements have already been signed to sell Kipushi's zinc concentrate to Citic Metal Limited of Hong Kong and Trafigura Asia Trading of Singapore.

"It's not just the high zinc grades that make Kipushi extraordinary. Although only the Big Zinc deposit has been validated so far, the mine shows great potential for other essential metals," said Guy-Robert Lukama Nkunzi, President of Gécamines.

The DRC has increased its contribution to global copper and germanium production in recent years. From 2021 to 2023, the country moved from the 4th to the 2nd largest global producer and launched a hydrometallurgical plant in 2023 to secure up to 30% of the world's germanium supply.

The Kipushi mine, originally producing copper, is expected to deliver an average of 240,000 tonnes of zinc concentrate annually over a 14-year mine life, according to the 2022 feasibility study. Under an agreement announced in January 2024, Gécamines' stake in Kipushi will increase from 32% to 38%, to 43% in 2027. Ivanhoe Mines holds the remaining interest in the mine.

Emiliano Tossou