Ivanhoe Mines announced an operational update on dewatering and rehabilitation activities at the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex, which were implemented after seismic activity occurred at the mine in May 2025.
Kamoa-Kakula’s engineering team implemented a three-stage plan for dewatering. “Stage One” dewatering activities to stabilize and maintain current water levels were completed on June 2, 2025, while “Stage Two” dewatering activities are expected to commence imminently. Stage Two dewatering consists of the installation of four new high-capacity, submersible pumps and new permanent surface infrastructure to dewater the eastern side of the Kakula mine from surface.
Kamoa-Kakula’s engineering team ordered the Stage Two high-capacity, submersible pumps, each rated with a pumping capacity of 650 liters per second, from Hefei Hengda Jianghai Pump Co., Ltd. of Anhui Province, China. Four of the five pumps were delivered and installed. The remaining pump will be shipped later and kept in reserve as a spare.
The 4.2 megawatt (MW) submersible pumps were installed in pairs down two adjacent, existing 400-meter shafts that access a deep section of the eastern side of the Kakula mine. The submersible pumps will be fully submerged until the end of November, when most of the dewatering is expected to be completed and the water levels will reach near the bottom of the Stage Two dewatering shafts. The submersible pumps will be powered by a separate, dedicated 20 MW generator, primarily to minimize any disruption risk from the electrical grid.
Once the new Stage Two high-capacity, submersible pumps located on the eastern side of the Kakula mine are operational, the Stage One temporary underground pumping infrastructure will be remobilized to assist with the Stage Two dewatering activities.
Dewatering the Western side of the Kakula mine is expected to be completed within eight weeks. “Stage Three” dewatering activities will start in late 2025 and consist of the rehabilitation and recommissioning of major existing pump stations on the eastern side of the Kakula mine, currently underwater. Stage Three will be the final dewatering stage, which will use the existing horizontal pumping infrastructure to dewater the remaining areas deep on the eastern side.
In related news, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) purchased a 4% stake in Ivanhoe for $500 million on September 17.