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(Kitco News) – Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN) today announced that Kipushi Corporation, a joint venture between Ivanhoe and state-owned mining company Gécamines, recently held a groundbreaking ceremony to commemorate the start of construction of the processing plant at the historic Kipushi zinc-copper-germanium-silver mine.

The company reported that the inauguration ceremony took place in the presence, among others, of His Excellency Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde, Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Ivanhoe added that the delegation had received the development plan to return the Kipushi mine to production by the end of 2024 – a hundred years since it first opened and 30 years since it was placed under care and maintenance.

According to a press release, the ceremony follows the exceptional results of the Kipushi 2022 feasibility study, announced in February 2022, as well as the agreement signed between Ivanhoe Mines and Gécamines to return the Kipushi mine to production. .

Kipushi 2022 Feasibility Study Assesses Development of 800,000 Tpa Concentrator and Underground Mine, Producing an Average of 240,000 Tpa of Concentrated Zinc Over a 14-Year Life .

“The successful start of commercial production would make Kipushi the richest major zinc mine in the world, with an average grade of 36.4% zinc in the first five years of production,” the company said. “Existing and rehabilitated surface and underground infrastructure allows for significantly lower capital costs than comparable development projects. The estimated pre-production capital cost, including contingencies, is $382 million.”

The company noted that at a zinc price of $1.40 per pound, the after-tax net present value (NPV) of the project at an 8% real discount rate is $1.4 billion, with an after-tax real internal rate of return (IRR) of 54%. The current zinc spot price is $1.46 per pound.

C1 average life-of-mine cash costs of $0.65 per pound of zinc should place Kipushi, once in production, in the second quartile of the cash cost curve for zinc producers globally. world,” said Ivanhoe.

Importantly, the company said the order for long-lead equipment is underway and the first construction activities have begun, adding that discussions on financing and drawdowns, including a prepayment of $250 million, are well advanced with several interested parties.