Kamoa-Kakula is a large copper mining complex near Kolwezi in the DRC's Lualaba province. Ownership is split between Ivanhoe Mines (39.6%), Zijin Mining Group (39.6%), Crystal River Global (0.8%), and the Government of the DRC (20%). Ivanhoe Mines manages the technical operations.
What the project is
The Kamoa-Kakula deposit comprises multiple high-grade copper ore bodies — Kamoa, Kakula, and Kansoko — within the Congolese Copperbelt sedimentary sequence. Resource estimates filed with Canadian securities regulators by Ivanhoe Mines describe it as the largest undeveloped high-grade copper discovery on record. It has been in phased production since 2021, with each successive phase adding concentrator capacity.
Copper output was approximately 437,000 tonnes in 2023. Expansion is ongoing; Ivanhoe's production guidance has increased in successive annual reports as new phases commission. A copper smelter is under construction at the mine site with the objective of producing blister copper within the DRC rather than exporting concentrate.
Ownership
The project company is Kamoa Copper SA, incorporated in the DRC. The joint venture structure groups Ivanhoe and Zijin as equal 39.6 percent shareholders, Crystal River Global at 0.8 percent, and the DRC government at a mandatory 20 percent free-carried non-dilutable interest held under Article 71 of the 2018 Mining Code.
Ivanhoe Mines is dual-listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, making Kamoa-Kakula one of the most liquid DRC copper investment exposures available to institutional equity investors. Zijin Mining is listed on the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges.
Why it matters
Kamoa-Kakula's expansion trajectory means it is the most significant single variable in DRC copper production growth over the 2025–2030 period. The combination of high ore grades, a large resource base, and multiple expansion phases that are already funded and under construction distinguishes it from projects that are still in permitting or pre-feasibility. For copper market analysts, Kamoa-Kakula supply additions are the most reliably quantifiable new copper source in the DRC.
