By: Creamer media

Underground operations were halted on Sunday, after seismic events were detected. All employees were safely evacuated, and mobile equipment was removed from the affected areas. No injuries were reported.

Ivanhoe said on Tuesday that geotechnical specialists and senior management had been mobilised to conduct a detailed inspection of the underground workings. Ivanhoe reported that seismic activity had significantly decreased in the past 24 hours and that the western section of the Kakula mine had been declared safe, with mining operations expected to resume imminently in that area.

Inspections were ongoing in the eastern portion of the mine, where underground infrastructure, including pumping systems, might have been affected.

The Phase 1 and 2 concentrators were continuing to operate at reduced capacity, processing ore from surface stockpiles.

As at April 30, the Kamoa-Kakula complex had about 3.8-million tonnes of high- and medium-grade ore on surface, with an estimated blended average grade of 3.2% copper. Ore from the western section of the mine will be incorporated into processing once operations there restart.

Ivanhoe confirmed that mining at the Kamoa underground mine and operations at the adjacent Phase 3 concentrator have not been impacted by the incident.