Ivanhoe’s Kipushi zinc mine in the DRC officially reopens

Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Kipushi zinc-copper-lead-germanium mine officially opened on Thursday as President Félix Tshisekedi conducted the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The high-grade mine is a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN) and DRC state-owned miner Gécamines.

Also present at the mine opening ceremony were DRC First Lady Denise Nyakeru Tshisekedi, as well as President of the Senate, three vice prime ministers, eight national ministers, and the governor of Haut-Katanga.

The announcement sent Ivanhoe’s stock 2% higher at C$19.10 by 1:45 p.m. EDT, giving the Vancouver-based miner a market capitalization of C$25.8 billion ($18.5bn).

In June, the JV partners restarted production at the Kipushi mine 31 years after it was put on care and maintenance. The restart marks exactly a century since the mine first went into production.

“The reopening of the Kipushi mine represents not only a milestone for sustainable resource development but also a promise of economic empowerment for our local communities,” Ivanhoe Mines president Marna Cloete said in a media release Thursday.

“The Kipushi mine was the beating heart of the Kipushi town since operations first began 100 years ago … Today, its heart has been revived, and the resumption of operations is an opportunity for a new economic paradigm,” added Gécamines chairman Guy-Robert Lukama Nkunzi.

This year, the Kipushi mine is expected to deliver total production of 50,000 to 70,000 tonnes of zinc in concentrate, which represents half of what Ivanhoe initially had forecasted. Over the next five years, Kipushi’s payable zinc production is expected to average 278,000 tonnes.