Ivanhoe Mines’ has announced that following the last update made on August 25, 2025, the Stage Two dewatering of the Kakula Mine has commenced on schedule, and that Kamoa-Kakula’s 2026 and 2027 copper production guidance will now be issued once Stage Two dewatering activities are more advanced.
Three out of the four Stage Two high-capacity, submersible pumps were recently installed and commissioned on schedule. Kamoa-Kakula’s engineering team expect to have all four Stage Two pumps operating within the coming days, operating at a combined pumping rate of approximately 2,600 litres per second. Since the commissioning of the three Stage Two pumps, the underground water level in the Kakula Mine has dropped vertically by 10 metres, out of a total of approximately 80 metres.
Once all four Stage Two high-capacity, submersible pumps are operational, the existing Stage One temporary, underground pumping infrastructure will be repositioned further down the mine, following the water level as it declines. The total pumping rate out of the Kakula Mine is expected to increase up to a target of approximately 6,400 litres per second, or 550 megalitres per day, reducing the vertical underground water level by approximately one metre per day. The majority of the Stage Two dewatering of the Kakula Mine is expected to be complete by the end of November 2025, which is when the underground water level is expected to reach near the bottom of the Stage Two dewatering shafts, shown in yellow in Figure 1.
As the underground water level falls, the underground mining team have already started systematically rehabilitating the newly dewatered areas of the Kakula Mine. The team is initially focused on rehabilitating the areas required for repositioning the Stage One underground pumping infrastructure.
Mine planning and scheduling is well advanced to support the ramp-up of underground mining activities from both Kakula and Kamoa mines, with a medium-term target of returning the copper production rate to over 550,000 tonnes per annum. In the meantime, copper production guidance for 2026 and 2027 will be deferred until sufficient physical inspection of the newly dewatered areas of the Kakula Mine has been completed.
Water pumped out from the Kakula Mine is fed into nearby settling ponds for treatment. With the underground vertical water level expected to decline by approximately one metre per day, the majority of the Stage Two dewatering of the Kakula Mine is expected to be complete by the end of November 2025.
At an adjacent ventilation shaft, the installation of the remaining two submersible pumps (Pumps 3 & 4) is complete, with commissioning of Pump 4 underway. Kamoa-Kakula’s engineering team expect to have all four Stage Two pumps operating within the coming days.
