On November 13, the contract for development and mining works at Kipuhsi Zinc Mine was awarded to KingKi Mining SAS, a subsidiary of JCHX Mining in DRC, by Ivanhoe Mines.
Located near Kipushi town, southwest of Haut-Katanga province in DRC, adjacent to the Zambian border, Kipushi is expected to be the world’s highest-grade zinc mine, with average zinc grade over the first five years of production at 36.4% and designed capacity of 800ktpa. Underground development system at Kipushi comprises of shaft and decline, with Shaft 5 (Φ 8m and 1240m deep) as the main production shaft, and current decline will be extended from 1330m down to 1600m to provide access to Big Zinc Orebody and South Zinc Orebody where mechanized operation can be done with open stope backfill method.
The scope of work mainly covers underground development between 1200m and 1590m as well as mining production. Currently multiple preparatory tasks have been completed by JCHX with high efficiency including testing and commissioning of equipment delivered to the site, interview and recruitment of local staff, safety training, equipping of office and living facilities, and repeated review and improvements to the construction plan, process flow and work organizations. JCHX will expedite the work with high quality based on fully mechanized fleet to realize rapid ramp up with stability.
Kipushi Zinc Mine is the fifth project for JCHX to provide mining services in DRC, and its third-time cooperation with Ivanhoe, following Kamoa-Kakula Copper Project and San Matias Copper-Gold-Silver Project. This contract strengthens the relationship between two parties, raises JCHX’s status in African mining market while demonstrating its overall competitiveness in the global mining sector.
