Ivanhoe Mines reports 76,401 tonnes of saleable copper in third quarter
The total rose 19 per cent from the June quarter but includes 6,904 tonnes of previously stockpiled fines designated for sale.
Mara Quinlan
Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. TSEIVN OTCMKTSIVPAF reported on Thursday that Kamoa-Kakula produced 76,401 tonnes of copper in saleable products in the third quarter, up 19 per cent from 64,328 tonnes in the June quarter. The first three quarters totalled 212,146 tonnes, leaving 77,854 tonnes needed in the fourth quarter to reach the 290,000-tonne floor of annual guidance.
Ivanhoe's TSEIVN shares rose 3.94 per cent to C$11.60 at 4 p.m. EDT on Friday, Oct. 9, in Toronto.
The total includes 6,904 tonnes of previously produced, stockpiled copper fines that Ivanhoe designated for sale and added to inventory during the quarter. The combined concentrators made 68,188 tonnes of copper in concentrate, up from 61,134 tonnes in the June quarter, the production table shows.
Ivanhoe kept its 2026 guidance at 290,000 to 310,000 tonnes of saleable copper products, though it expects output near the lower end. Kamoa-Kakula ended September with about 43,000 tonnes of copper in inventory, compared with about 40,000 tonnes at the start of the third quarter.
"The 2026 production guidance range remains 290,000 to 310,000 tonnes of copper in saleable copper products, with production trending towards the lower end of guidance," Ivanhoe said in its Oct. 8 release.
Mining rates at Kamoa and Kansoko climbed 30 per cent to more than 700,000 tonnes a month after crews were added and a new box cut opened access to Kamoa 1. The first two concentrator phases milled 30 per cent more ore than in the June quarter, lifting their copper in concentrate to 38,523 tonnes from 30,211 tonnes.
Phase 3 produced 29,664 tonnes of copper in concentrate, down from 30,923 tonnes in the preceding quarter. Its feed grade declined to 2.07 per cent copper from 2.22 per cent. Across all three phases, concentrate production remained below the 71,266 tonnes reported in the third quarter of 2025.
The copper smelter at the complex continued to run at about 60 per cent of its 500,000-tonne annual design capacity. It produced 61,506 tonnes of copper anode during the quarter, while toll treatment at the nearby Lualaba smelter added 2,347 tonnes of copper in blister. Ivanhoe also counted slag concentrate among its saleable products.
At its separate Kipushi zinc mine, Ivanhoe reported output of 77,147 tonnes of zinc in concentrate, up 10 per cent from the June quarter. Ivanhoe said a 60-MW on-site hybrid solar facility at Kamoa-Kakula ramped up in September, reducing on-site diesel generator consumption by 40 per cent.
Ivanhoe plans to assay, survey and tender additional stockpiled copper fines for sale in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Ivanhoe is scheduled to release third-quarter financial results after the market closes on Nov. 3 and hold an investor call on Nov. 4.
