Kamoa Copper SA suspended underground mining operations at its Kakula facility in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday following seismic activity detected in the mine’s eastern section over the past week.
The company evacuated all personnel safely and removed mobile equipment from active mining areas as a precautionary measure. No injuries were reported during the suspension at the copper complex, which ranks among the world’s highest-grade copper operations.
Management deployed geotechnical specialists to conduct comprehensive underground inspections beginning Monday. Seismic activity has declined substantially over the past 24 hours, and the western section of Kakula has been cleared for resuming mining operations imminently. 
Inspections continue in the eastern section, where underground infrastructure including pumping systems may have sustained damage. The extent of any infrastructure impact remains under assessment.
The suspension affects processing capacity at the complex’s Phase 1 and Phase 2 concentrators, which are operating at reduced throughput using surface stockpiles. As of April 30, Kamoa-Kakula maintained approximately 3.8 million tonnes of high and medium-grade ore stockpiles averaging 3.2% copper content.
Mining operations at the separate Kamoa underground facility and its adjacent Phase 3 concentrator continue unaffected by the Kakula suspension.
The Kamoa-Kakula complex represents a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines (39.6%), China’s Zijin Mining Group (39.6%), Crystal River Global Limited (0.8%) and the DRC government (20%). The operation began producing copper concentrates in May 2021 and projects output between 520,000 and 580,000 tonnes of copper in concentrates for 2025.
The complex operates on renewable hydroelectric power and maintains among the lowest greenhouse gas emissions per tonne of copper produced globally under Scope 1 and 2 criteria. Kamoa Copper indicated it would provide operational updates as the inspection process advances.
