Ivanhoe’s 2024 exploration budget has increased to approximately $90 million and will focus on activities around the Kitoko discovery, as well as testing additional new targets developed considering the Company’s new geological understanding.
The goals of the expanded 2024 exploration effort will 1) expand the Kitoko copper discovery with additional drill rigs, 2) advance the understanding of the Makoko and Kiala deposits and optimize studies for near-term copper mine production on Ivanhoe’s majority-owned licences, 3) continue to evaluate high-priority targets across the Forelands, based on Ivanhoe’s fast-evolving proprietary database and geologic models for additional tier-one, high-grade copper discoveries.
Makoko – The world’s fourth-largest copper discovery over the past decade
Makoko, first discovered in 2018, is situated approximately 20 kilometres west of the Kakula deposit, along strike of the regional structure controlling high-grade copper mineralization at Kakula.
The Makoko Mineral Resource has been defined by drilling covering a total area of 15.9 square kilometres within the much larger Makoko exploration area. The total area extent of Indicated Resource is 1.1 square kilometres at a 1.0% cut-off and 14.8 square kilometres for the Inferred Resource at a 1.0% cut-off. The average dip of the mineralized zone in the Mineral Resource area is 14 degrees.
The Mineral Resource estimate is based on the results from approximately 50,000 metres of drilling in 148 holes. An additional 20 holes totaling more than 2,800 metres have been completed since the closure of the database for resource estimation purposes.
Makoko Discovery Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources at a 1.0% cut-off grade.
注：
1. Ivanhoe’s Senior Exploration Geologist, Tim Dunnett, a Member of the Geology Society of South Africa and Professional Natural Scientist (Pr. Sci. Nat) with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP), estimated the Mineral Resources that were reviewed by Jeremy Witley, Pr.Sci.Nat SACNASP, FGSSA, who is the Qualified Person for the Mineral Resource estimate. The effective date of the estimate is 4 2023年9月, and the cut-off date for drill data is 28 2023年2月. 鉱物資源量は、鉱物資源量と鉱物埋蔵量に関するCIM 2014 Definition Standardsを使用して報告されています。鉱物資源量は100%ベースで報告されています。Ivanhoe holds an indirect 80% interest in the Makoko SA mining licences and 100% interest in the Lufupa exploration licences (see Table 6).
2. Mineral Resources are reported for Makoko using a total copper (TCu) cut-off grade of 1% TCu and a minimum vertical thickness of 3m. There are reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction under the following assumptions: copper price $4.00/lb; employment of underground mechanized drift-and-fill mining methods; copper concentrates will be sold to the Kakula smelter or toll treated; average metallurgical recovery is 87.5%; mining costs are assumed to be $38/t; concentrator, tailings treatment, and general and administrative costs are assumed to be $15/t; smelter, refining and transport costs are assumed to be $13.5/t of ore at the cut-off grade; royalty of 3.5%, export tax of 1% and concentrate tax of $100/t NSR concentrate.
3. 報告された鉱物資源量に、上盤または下盤の接触境界の損失と希薄化は考慮されていません。採掘実収率は適用されていません。
4. Approximate drill hole spacings are 400 m to 600 m for Inferred Mineral Resources and 200 m for Indicated Mineral Resources.
5. 報告ガイドラインに従って値を四捨五入すると、トン数、品位、金属含有量の合計に明確な違いが生じる可能性があります。
Makoko Discovery Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources, sensitivity cases.
Kiala
Kiala, discovered in 2020, adjoins the northern boundary of the Kamoa-Kakula mining licence and is a northern extension of mineralization from this licence along a north-trending controlling growth structure, whereby a sulfur-rich siltstone layer is brought progressively closer to, and eventually overlain on the aquifer. This onlapping relationship brings two key mineralizing controls in contact with one another, resulting in a zone of high-grade mineralization parallel to the growth fault.
The Kiala Mineral Resource has been defined by drilling covering an area of 0.9 square kilometres. The average dip of the mineralized zone within the Indicated Resource is 9 degrees.
The Mineral Resource estimate is based on the results from approximately 13,000 metres of drilling in 35 holes. An additional four holes totaling more than 1,650 metres have been completed since the closure of the database for resource estimation purposes.
Kiala Discovery Indicated Mineral Resource at a 1.0% cut-off grade.
注：
1. Ivanhoe’s Senior Exploration Geologist, Tim Dunnett, a Member of the Geology Society of South Africa and Professional Natural Scientist (Pr. Sci. Nat) with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP), estimated the Mineral Resources that were reviewed by Jeremy Witley, Pr.Sci.Nat SACNASP, FGSSA, who is the Qualified Person for the Mineral Resource estimate. The effective date for the estimate is 12 2023年9月, and the cut-off date for the drill data is 8 2023年9月. 鉱物資源量は、鉱物資源量と鉱物埋蔵量に関するCIM 2014 Definition Standardsを使用して報告されています。鉱物資源量は100%ベースで報告されています。Ivanhoe holds an indirect 80% interest in the Makoko SA mining licences and 100% interest in the Lufupa exploration licences (Table 7).
2. Mineral Resources are reported using a total copper (TCu) cut-off grade of 1% TCu and a minimum vertical thickness of 3m. There are reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction under the following assumptions: copper price $4.00/lb; employment of underground mechanized drift-and-fill mining methods; copper concentrates will be sold to the Kakula smelter or toll treated; average metallurgical recovery is 87.5%; mining costs are assumed to be $38/t; concentrator, tailings treatment, and general and administrative costs are assumed to be $15/t; smelter, refining and transport costs are assumed to be $13.5/t of ore at the cut-off grade; royalty of 3.5%, export tax of 1% and concentrate tax of $100/t NSR concentrate.
3. Reported Mineral Resources contain no allowances for hanging wall or footwall contact boundary loss and dilution. 採掘実収率は適用されていません。
4. Approximate drill hole spacings are 200 m for Indicated Mineral Resources.
5. Rounding as required by reporting guidelines may result in apparent summation differences between tonnes, grade and contained metal content.
Kiala Discovery Indicated Mineral Resource, sensitivity cases.
Kitoko – Ivanhoe’s fifth largest high-grade sedimentary copper discover in the DRC
The Kitoko discovery is approximately 25 kilometres west of the ultra-high-grade Kakula Mine, and five kilometres south and southeast of the Makoko deposit and is located inside a package of newly acquired joint venture licences in the Western Foreland.
Like the Kamoa and Kakula deposits, copper mineralization at Kitoko is hosted in the lowest reductant sedimentary layer. The deposition of copper mineralization occurs in basins where the circulating copper-bearing fluids are focused into sub-basins and shelf edges. Ivanhoe’s 80-to-100%-owned exploration licences, plus the new joint venture licence package, cover approximately 175 kilometres of prospective strike length for this style of mineralization.
Drilling is continuing at Kitoko to define the limits of mineralization, which remains open in all directions. When the extent of the mineralized system has been confirmed, infill resource drilling will begin.
Exploration will continue to test other high-value exploration targets in conjunction with the continued drilling of Kitoko in 2024 and beyond.
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