Job Details
- Company: Senior notes
- Location: DRC
Job Description
Ivanhoe Mines Issues 2026 Second-Quarter Financial Results, Overview of Operations and Exploration Activities
Publish date: 29 July 2026
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Ivanhoe Mines’ reports Q2 2026 profit of $46M and Adjusted EBITDA of $179M, including $152M of attributable EBITDA from Kamoa-Kakula
Kamoa-Kakula’s smelter operating costs offset by high-strength sulphuric acid sales during Q2 2026
Sulphuric acid production averaging 1,250+ tonnes per day; Q3 contract prices up >100% this year to ~$840 per tonne
H2 2026 Kamoa-Kakula copper production rates set to increase; 2026 production guidance tightened to 290,000 to 310,000 tonnes of copper
2027 Kamoa-Kakula Updated Life-of-Mine Plan underway; new mine plan to be optimized with 250,000-metre in-fill drill program and trade-off studies
Commissioning of Kamoa-Kakula’s solar facility with battery backup underway; full capacity expected by end of Q3
Platreef’s Shaft #3 commissioned; new hoisting capacity to ramp up Phase 1 operations & Phase 2 expansion
Phase 2 concentrator earthworks advancing; construction on schedule for completion in Q4 2027
Kipushi produced record 70,177 tonnes of zinc in Q2 2026, at a cost of sales of $1.06/lb. and a cash cost (C1) of $0.90/lb., as prices climb to multi-year highs of $1.60/lb. of zinc
Western Forelands Mineral Resource upgrade expected in September; Makoko District copper discovery continues to grow
Johannesburg, South Africa–(Newsfile Corp. – July 29, 2026) – Ivanhoe Mines’ (TSX: IVN) (OTCQX: IVPAF) President and Chief Executive Officer, Marna Cloete, and Chief Financial Officer David van Heerden today announce the company’s financial results for the second quarter of 2026, as well as an operations and project development update.
Ivanhoe Mines is a leading Canadian mining company with three principal tier-one mining operations in Southern Africa: the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC); the ultra-high-grade Kipushi zinc-copper-lead-germanium mine, also in the DRC; and the Platreef platinum, palladium, nickel, rhodium, gold, and copper mine in South Africa.
In addition, Ivanhoe Mines is expanding the Makoko District copper discovery in the Western Forelands, in the DRC, as well as exploring for new sedimentary-hosted copper discoveries across its vast and highly prospective exploration licence packages in the DRC, Angola, Zambia, and Kazakhstan.
All figures are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated.
Founder and Co-Chairman Robert Friedland commented
“Our operational recovery at Kamoa-Kakula is gathering momentum and we firmly believe we have turned the corner... Mining rates have continued to improve at both Kamoa and Kakula as underground development advances and additional mining areas are brought online. We intend to have higher copper production in the second half of 2026, setting the foundation for an even stronger 2027.
“Despite elevated global diesel prices during the quarter, the impact on our operating costs has been well contained. Both our Kamoa-Kakula and Kipushi operations remain comfortably within our cash cost guidance ranges.
“Our world-class smelter at Kamoa-Kakula provides a natural hedge while flows through the Strait of Hormuz remain constrained. During the second quarter, revenues from sulphuric acid sales covered the smelter’s operating costs... With sulphuric acid prices increasing by a further 80% into the third quarter, this extremely valuable by-product credit will provide a strong tailwind for Kamoa-Kakula for the foreseeable future.
“Kipushi delivered another outstanding quarter, achieving yet another production record as zinc prices reach multi-year highs. We continue to examine ways to unlock the high concentrations of gallium and germanium at Kipushi, two metals critical to the resilience of global supply chains.
“Beyond our operating mines, we continue to unlock extraordinary value across the Western Forelands. We look forward to publishing a significant Mineral Resource update in September, which we believe will further demonstrate that this emerging copper district is one of the most important new discoveries anywhere in the world.
“Our balance sheet will further strengthen in the second half of 2026 as we monetize our stockpiles of unsold metal... at a time when metal prices outperform at $13,700 per tonne of copper and $3,600 per tonne of zinc. At Kamoa-Kakula we currently hold 40,000 tonnes of unsold copper, and at Kipushi we currently hold 44,000 tonnes of unsold zinc. As the price of copper and zinc rises, so does the value of these stocks... You may enjoy doing math to determine the value of these stockpiles of copper and zinc.”
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
- Ivanhoe Mines recorded a profit of $46 million for Q2 2026, compared with a $2 million loss for Q1 2026. The quarterly improvement in profit was attributable to Kamoa-Kakula’s $16 million share of profit and Kipushi’s $27 million segmental profit.
- Ivanhoe Mines recorded Adjusted EBITDA of $179 million in Q2 2026, compared to $123 million for the same period in 2025. The Adjusted EBITDA includes an attributable share of EBITDA from Kamoa-Kakula of $152 million, compared to $128 million for the same period in 2025.
- Kamoa-Kakula sold 61,249 tonnes of copper (net of payability) during the second quarter at an average realized copper price of $5.99/lb., compared with 66,619 tonnes in Q1 2026 at an average realized copper price of $5.79 per pound (lb.). At the end of the second quarter, there were approximately 40,000 tonnes of unsold copper in inventory, which was unchanged from the end of the first quarter. The planned destocking of unsold copper inventory is now expected to take place during the second half of 2026.
- Kamoa-Kakula recognized revenue of $880 million, an operating profit of $160 million and EBITDA of $385 million for the quarter, equivalent to an EBITDA margin of 44%.
- Kamoa-Kakula’s cost of sales per pound of payable copper sold was $4.86/lb. for the second quarter, compared with $3.90/lb. in Q1 2026. The elevated cost of sales was primarily due to $1.35/lb. in depreciation charges during the quarter.
- Kamoa-Kakula’s cash cost (C1) per pound of payable copper produced averaged $2.84/lb. during the quarter, compared with $2.58/lb. in Q1 2026. Cash cost (C1) for the first six months of 2026 averaged $2.70/lb., well within the full year guidance range of $2.60/lb. to $3.00/lb.
- Kamoa-Kakula’s Q2 2026 smelter operating costs averaged $0.41/lb., which were largely offset by $0.39/lb. in sulphuric acid by-product credits. In addition, logistics charges in Q2 2026 averaged $0.24/lb, similar to Q1 2026 and approximately one-third of the cost prior to the commencement of smelter operations. The logistics cost improvements result from exporting 99.7%-pure copper anodes during the quarter, compared with exporting concentrate containing 35% to 40% copper prior to the start-up of the smelter.
- Kamoa-Kakula sold 119,603 tonnes of high-strength sulphuric acid during the quarter, at an average price of $465 per tonne. The sulphuric acid offtake contracts for July and August delivery are expected to average approximately $840 per tonne. Sulphuric acid prices are expected to remain elevated for the foreseeable future.
- Kamoa-Kakula’s capital expenditure in Q2 2026 was $284 million. Capital expenditure during H1 2026 was $592 million, with total spend for 2026 tracking in line to achieve the full-year guidance range of $1,100 million to $1,400 million.
- Kipushi sold 43,424 tonnes of zinc (net of payability) during the quarter, at an average realized zinc price of $1.58/lb., compared with 54,940 tonnes in Q1 2026 at an average realized zinc price of $1.47/lb. The decrease in sales volumes during the quarter was due to logistical constraints, resulting in an increase in unsold zinc in concentrate held in inventory by approximately 14,000 tonnes of payable zinc. Destocking of this build up in unsold zinc is expected in H2 2026.
- Kipushi recognized quarterly revenue of $146 million, a segmented profit of $27 million and EBITDA of $51 million in Q2 2026, which is equivalent to an EBITDA margin of 35%. This compares with an EBITDA of $58 million and an EBITDA margin of 36% in Q1 2026.
- Kipushi’s cost of sales per pound of payable zinc sold was $1.06/lb. for the second quarter, and was also $1.06/lb. in Q1 2026. Cash cost (C1) per pound of payable zinc sold averaged $0.90/lb. during the second quarter. Kipushi is on track to achieve the full-year cash cost (C1) guidance of $0.85/lb. to $0.95/lb., with cash cost (C1) for H1 2026 averaging $0.88/lb.
- Platreef’s capital expenditure during Q2 2026 was $83 million and $150 million for the first half of the year. The full-year guidance range of $350 million to $380 million is unchanged and relates to the ongoing Phase 2 expansion.
- Financial close of the Platreef Mine’s $700 million Phase 2 senior project finance facility was achieved on April 30, 2026. The Phase 2 facility amended and upsized the Phase 1 facility, resulting in approximately $600 million in net additional capital provided by a syndicate comprising of Societe Generale, Absa Bank Limited, and Nedbank Limited. In July, Platreef drew and received $87 million from the new facility.
- Ivanhoe Mines had cash and cash equivalents on hand of $635 million as at June 30, 2026.
OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
- In Q2 2026, Kamoa-Kakula produced 64,328 tonnes of copper contained in anode, blister and slag concentrate held for sale. 62,072 tonnes of anode were produced by Kamoa-Kakula’s copper smelter, and 2,256 tonnes of copper in blister were produced by the Lualaba Copper Smelter (LCS) in Kolwezi.
- Kamoa-Kakula’s on-site smelter is the largest copper smelter in Africa and has been operating at approximately 60% of capacity since mid-February. The smelter produced 112,307 tonnes of high-strength sulphuric acid during the quarter. The production rate is currently approximately 1,250 tonnes per day, which is equivalent to approximately 60% of design capacity.
- Ivanhoe Mines tightens 2026 production guidance range to 290,000 to 310,000 tonnes of copper (from 290,000 to 330,000 tonnes of copper) in anode, blister or saleable slag concentrate. The 2027 copper production guidance range of 380,000 to 420,000 tonnes of copper remains unchanged.
Work on a new Kamoa-Kakula life-of-mine study commenced in the second quarter. The new study, called the 2027 Updated Kamoa-Kakula Life of Mine Plan (2027 Kamoa-Kakula LOM) is planned for completion in late Q1 2027 and will build on the key recommendations from the 2026 Kamoa-Kakula Mineral Resource Estimate (2026 Kamoa-Kakula MRE), which was released on
March 31, 2026
. The 2027 Kamoa-Kakula LOM will outline, in greater detail than the 2026 Kamoa-Kakula MRE, the ramp-up to 500,000 tonnes of annualized copper production from 2028 onwards, at a target cash cost (C1) of approximately $2.00/lb. or less.
- 2027 Kamoa-Kakula LOM will include significantly improved geotechnical and hydrological models for Kamoa and Kakula. The improved models will be informed by a new 250,000-metre drilling program, which commenced in July. In addition, various technical trade-off studies are underway aimed at improving the extraction efficiency and rate of ore from both mines.
- Commissioning of Kamoa-Kakula’s on-site hybrid solar photovoltaic (PV) facility with battery energy storage system (BESS) is nearing completion. The facility is expected to be fully ramped up and delivering a continuous baseload of 60 MW to the copper complex by Q3. The first 15 MW of power was delivered in July. The facility is the largest hybrid solar PV with BESS installed on a mine site in Africa.
- Kamoa-Kakula is advancing plans to double the on-site hybrid solar capacity. A tender was awarded, and a power purchase agreement (PPA) was signed in late April for an additional 30 MW of capacity. The tender for an additional 30-MW facility is in the final stages of being awarded. By the end of
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