Ivanhoe Mines Reports Q3 Results

Ivanhoe Mines (TSXV:IVN) reported its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30. Among other things, the company stated that it expects its pre-feasibility study for the Kamoa copper project to be complete by early 2016.
As quoted in the press release, highlights included:

• The Kamoa pre-feasibility study (PFS) is expected to be finalized in early 2016. The PFS is based on the project’s planned first phase and is consistent with the phased approach to project development outlined in the 2013 Kamoa preliminary economic assessment. Phase one will see the construction of an underground operation producing three million tonnes a year and feeding an adjacent concentrator. Metallurgical test work has indicated that copper recoveries averaging 86% and concentrate grades averaging 39% copper are achievable.
• Initial shaft sinking activities (drilling, blasting and mucking) at Platreef’s Shaft 1 commenced on October 26, 2015, following successful construction of the shaft collar and ventilation plenum. Shaft 1 will have an internal diameter of 7.25 metres; it is projected to intersect the Flatreef deposit at a depth of 777 metres below surface in late 2017 and reach its total depth of 975 metres in 2018. Selected mining areas in the current Platreef mine plan occur at depths ranging from approximately 700 metres to 1,200 metres below the surface.
• In early August, Ivanhoe Mines began work on a feasibility study that will cover the first phase of mine development at the company’s Platreef Project in South Africa. The study will build upon the findings of the pre-feasibility study completed in January 2015 that included construction of an underground mine, an initial four-million-tonne-per-year concentrator and associated infrastructure to support initial concentrate production by 2019. The pre-feasibility study estimated a planned initial, average annual production rate of 433,000 ounces of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold (3PE+Au), plus 19 million pounds of nickel and 12 million pounds of copper per year, at an estimated cost of $322 per ounce of 3PE+Au, net of by-products. There will be opportunities to refine and modify the timing and capacities of subsequent phases of production to suit market conditions during the development and commissioning of the first phase.
• The three projects achieved a combined 12.8 million hours of lost-time-injury-free (LTIF) work by the end of Q3 2015, reflecting, in part, the company’s continued efforts to prioritize the management of health and safety on its job sites. Ivanhoe recorded 4.8 million LTIF hours at Platreef, 4.4 million hours at Kamoa and 3.6 million hours at Kipushi by the end of Q3 2015. The Platreef Project subsequently has reported two lost-time injuries.
• At the Kipushi zinc-copper project in the DRC, a total of 2,708 metres in six drill holes were completed in Q3 2015 in the Big Zinc and Nord Riche zones and the southern exploration area. By the end of Q3 2015, a total of 24,035 metres of drilling had been completed in 96 holes since Ivanhoe started its drilling program in March 2014. Ivanhoe completed the exploration drilling program in October 2015. Ivanhoe is working with MSA of Johannesburg to finalize an updated Mineral Resource Estimate for the Kipushi Project that will incorporate all of the drill results received to date. The independent estimate, which is being prepared in accordance with 2014 CIM definition standards, is expected to be completed and issued during Q4 2015. A preliminary economic assessment will be undertaken based on the updated resource estimate.

Click here for the full press release.