By: African business insider

Ivanhoe Mines has ignited its new copper smelter at the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, describing it as the largest and most environmentally sustainable facility of its kind in Africa. The event, inaugurated with a traditional community blessing, was framed by company leadership as a transformative milestone for both the operation and the region.

During the ceremony, Kamoa-Kakula Managing Director Annebel Oosthuizen called the achievement a collective success for all employees, while Founder and Executive Co-Chairman Robert Friedland stated the facility represents the "passing of a torch" and a new global standard for copper smelting. He emphasized the project's role in advancing the production of clean, sustainable copper in the DRC.

Strategically, the on-site smelter provides Kamoa-Kakula with greater independence and improved margins by allowing it to process its own high-grade concentrate rather than relying on external smelters. The Kamoa-Kakula complex, already one of the world's fastest-growing and lowest-carbon copper operations, delivered 437,061 tonnes of copper in 2024. The company expects to produce the first blister copper anodes from the new facility before the end of the year.

Ivanhoe Mines stated that this development marks a key step in evolving from a major concentrate producer into a major supplier of processed copper, enhancing both its commercial performance and the DRC's position in the global copper value chain, particularly for energy transition technologies.