Ivanhoe Mines: Underground Mining at Kakula Mine Suspended, Resumption of Work in Western Section Continues

Senior management of Ivanhoe Mines, along with a team of world-class geotechnical experts, continues to conduct a comprehensive mine investigation to understand the causes and impacts of the seismic activity.

In the past few days, intermittent seismic activity has persisted in the Kakula underground mine. In light of the recent seismic events, underground operations were suspended again on Saturday, May 25, 2025. All employees have been safely evacuated to the surface, and mobile equipment has been removed from underground work areas. The company has always prioritized the safety of its employees and contractors, and to date, there have been no lost-time injuries. Preliminary indications suggest that seismic activity at Kakula may continue for several weeks, which will affect underground access operations and extend the suspension of underground mining at Kakula.

Due to the impact on underground pumping and power infrastructure, there has been a significant increase in water inflow at the Kakula underground mine. With the support of Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin Mining, Kamoa Copper is developing a detailed dewatering plan, including the procurement of new pumping equipment to enhance pumping capacity from the surface. Ivanhoe thanks its Chinese partners, Zijin Mining and CITIC Metal, for their significant assistance in procuring pumping equipment.

Marna Cloete, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ivanhoe Mines, commented, "I would like to express my deep gratitude to our dedicated employees who have continued to work under challenging conditions during the recent seismic events, demonstrating remarkable resilience and dedication. The safety of our employees is our top priority, and achieving zero injuries in such a severe environment is a testament to the professionalism and focus of every employee at Kamoa Copper."

"During the suspension of underground mining operations at the Kakula Mine, we are focusing our efforts on maintaining pumping and water management facilities, including expediting the procurement of relevant equipment for surface dewatering. We are working around the clock with world-leading geotechnical experts to investigate the causes of the issues we are facing and develop solutions."

"We are making every effort to retain significant flexibility to sustain operations at the Kakula beneficiation plant through surface ore stockpiling or to redeploy Kakula employees and equipment to the unaffected and ongoing operations at the Kamoa Mine."

Robert Friedland, founder and Co-Executive Chairman of Ivanhoe Mines, added, "We will draw wisdom and experience from the events of the past week. Ivanhoe Mines and our partner, Zijin Mining, are jointly operating this complex, high-grade, and previously unheard-of sediment-hosted copper deposit. This incident will provide us with valuable insights into geotechnical engineering and the maintenance of critical pumping facilities, enabling us to avoid similar impacts in the future and safely resume mining operations at Kakula... These lessons will comprehensively guide our work at Kamoa and Western Foreland."

"I remind readers that SpaceX, which currently undertakes approximately 90% of humanity's space launch missions, did not achieve its current success overnight. Every setback has brought new knowledge to their team, leading to greater achievements. Therefore, we are approaching the operation of Kamoa-Kakula with the same mindset. Together, we plan to resume operations and production, making them safer and more robust than ever before."

As some underground areas have been confirmed safe, personnel can return to work. The primary tasks are to inspect, repair, and restart the pump stations and associated pipelines, as well as the substation and related cables. Repair work continues in the shallow western section of the Kakula mine, where the drainage flow rate is 1,000 liters per second. The engineering team at Kamoa Copper is focusing on restoring the drainage capacity, aiming to exceed 3,000 liters per second, which will be sufficient to maintain stable groundwater levels in the area. Meanwhile, the management team is planning to install permanent, large-power pumping systems that can be operated from the surface in all mining areas.

The surface infrastructure at Kakula, including the Phase 1 and Phase 2 beneficiation plants and the one-step copper smelter, remains completely unaffected. The Phase 1 and Phase 2 beneficiation plants are currently processing ore from surface stockpiles.

Mining activities at the Kamoa underground mine and the adjacent Phase 3 beneficiation plant continue to operate normally and remain unaffected.

The 2025 production and cost guidance for Kamoa-Kakula, as well as the capacity ramp-up plan for the one-step copper smelter, have been temporarily withdrawn pending re-evaluation. Ivanhoe Mines will provide further updates as more information becomes available.

Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin Mining continue to maintain a strong and resilient partnership at the joint venture level, jointly committed to restoring safe production at Kakula as soon as possible.