Ivanhoe Mines’ (TSX:IVN) Executive Co-Chair Robert Friedland and President and CEO Marna Cloete announced the company’s latest production results, with 64,328 tonnes of copper produced by the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Q2 2026.
Kamoa-Kakula is the world’s largest ‘high-grade’, low-carbon emitting copper mine located in the Central African Copper Belt. It began commercial production in 2021 and has seen significant expansion since, with the successful commissioning of the phase three concentrator in August 2024.
In 2025, the mine reached a record US$3.28 billion ($4.73 billion) in revenue with 388,838 tonnes of copper produced.
With this quarter’s production results now in, Ivanhoe notes that H2 2026 will see a boost in production due to improvements in mining rates and the destocking of copper inventories.
Q2 saw the phase one, two, and three concentrators mill 2.97 million tonnes of ore, producing 61,134 tonnes of copper concentrate. The Kamoa-Kakula copper smelter produced 62,072 tonnes of anode, while the Lualaba Copper Smelter produced an additional 2,256 tonnes of copper in blister.
Copper on inventory was unchanged in Q2 at around 40,000 tonnes, with a planned destocking of up to 10,000 tonnes of copper to take place in H2.
Ivanhoe has reported a 2026 production guidance of 290,000-330,000 tonnes of copper anode or blister. H2 will see mining rates increase by 30% to 700,000 tonnes per month, equivalent to around 8.5 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa).
The company has plans to mobilise additional mining crews and commence stoping (production mining) to enable this growth.
Development update: Access, services, and stoping progress ahead of 2028 production uplift
Ivanhoe has also provided operational updates on its underground development, with plans for a production rate of around 500,000 tonnes of copper per annum, starting from 2028.
The mineral reserve estimate for Kamoa-Kakula outlines an updated mine plan for the overall complex in order to grow production to the 500,000 tonne mark. These plans include the phase one, two, and three concentrators operating a steady-state rate of 17Mtpa over 25 years.
Through to 2028, development activities will focus on establishing long-term access and mine services ahead of broader mining activities. While production stoping recently commenced at Kamoa, Kakula is expected to begin stoping in H2 2027.
Ivanhoe notes that its on-site solar facility, complete with battery storage, is set to ramp up to full capacity in Q3 2026, with plans to double on-site capacity to 120 megawatts (MW) by the end of 2027.
The company’s photovoltaic (PV) facilities will deliver continuous baseload power to Kamoa Copper as its sole offtaker.
The on-site solar and PV facilities are owned, operated, and funded by CrossBoundary Energy and Green World Energie. It is also largest hybrid solar PV and battery energy storage system (BESS) facility installed by a mining company in Africa.
Kamoa-Kakula plans to double its on-site solar capacity and has recently signed a power purchase agreement with Green World Energie for an additional 30MW on-site hybrid solar PV facility with BESS.
Ivanhoe Mines will issue its Q2 2026 financial results following the market close on 29 July 2026, with a conference call to follow.
Ivanhoe Mines is a Canadian mining company focused on advancing three key projects in Southern Africa.
Write to Amy Rotman at Mining.com.au
Images: Ivanhoe Mines
