Ivanhoe Mines begins copper anode production at new Congo smelter
Staff Writer | January 2, 2026
Once fully ramped up, the smelter’s overall copper recovery is expected to be 98.5%. Credit: Ivanhoe Mines
Ivanhoe Mines has officially begun copper anode production at Kamoa-Kakula’s direct-to-blister smelter in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
First production occurred on Dec. 29, 2025, approximately five weeks after the commencement of smelter’s heat-up and one week after the first feed of concentrate, the company said in a statement Friday.
The facility, with a steady-state capacity of 500,000 tonnes per annum, would be the largest in Africa once ramped up.
“The first production of copper anodes from our world-class smelter is a defining moment for Kamoa-Kakula,” Ivanhoe’s founder and executive co-chairman Robert Friedland said in a news release. He added that the facility will “deliver the highest-quality Congolese copper anodes to the international markets, setting a new global benchmark for scale, efficiency, and sustainability.”
Analysts at BMO Capital Markets, in a note published Friday, said Ivanhoe’s announcement of first anode production from the Kamoa-Kakula smelter falls in line with guidance and the bank’s expectations.
Shares of Ivanhoe Mines jumped as much as 5% on the announcement, before paring some gains. By midday in Toronto, it traded at around C$16 apiece with a market capitalization of C$23.2 billion ($16.9 billion).
Ramp-up continues
Ivanhoe said Friday that it is now ramping up the Kamoa-Kakula copper smelter to its annualized rate of 500,000 tonnes of 99.7%-pure copper anode, with completion expected by year-end.
As announced by the company last month, Kamoa-Kakula’s copper production is estimated at between 380,000 and 420,000 tonnes in 2026, with the mid-point of 400,000 tonnes representing approximately 80% of the smelter’s total capacity.
According to the Canadian miner, the Kamoa-Kakula management team is expected to prioritize the processing of concentrates produced by the Phase 1, 2, and 3 concentrators through the on-site smelter, with any excess concentrate toll-treated at the Lualaba smelter near Kolwezi.
Prior to the first feed of concentrate into the smelter, Kamoa-Kakula’s on-site concentrate inventory contained approximately 37,000 tonnes of copper. Total unsold copper in concentrate at the smelter, held in stockpiles and the smelting circuit, is expected to be reduced to approximately 17,000 tonnes during 2026 as the smelter ramps up.
As such, 2026 copper sales are expected to be approximately 20,000 tonnes higher than copper production as the on-site inventory of unsold copper concentrate is destocked, predominantly during the first half of 2026, Ivanhoe said. As destocking occurs, Kamoa-Kakula’s management aims to capitalize on near-record-high copper prices, it added.