On 23 May 2025, the Company announced the series of seismic activities at the Kakula Mine of the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Mine and the temporary interruption of partial underground mining operations. Following the incident, Kamoa Copper S.A. ("Kamoa Copper") promptly established an emergency response organisation and engaged internationally renowned professional institutions and experts to conduct research, evaluation and provide guidance on the mine situation. Due to damage of underground pumping infrastructure at the deep sections, underground water levels rose rapidly, resulting in substantial flooding of the eastern side of the Kakula Mine.
With strong support from shareholders, Kamoa Copper quickly mobilised additional pumping infrastructure for emergency response. The underground water inflow and pumping rates at the Kakula Mine have reached an equilibrium at present. The underground water level is being controlled at an elevation of 1,110 metres (299 metres below the entrance of the northern boxcut).
The underground mining operation at the northern and southern areas of the western side of the Kakula Mine, which has an elevation above 1,110 metres, has been gradually resumed. Kamoa Copper is urgently procuring and installing high-power pumps and permanent pumping systems to conduct comprehensive dewatering operations throughout the entire Kakula Mine, with dewatering from depth expected to commence in August 2025. According to preliminary assessment, affected by this mine flooding incident, the 2025 production guidance of mine-produced copper for the Kamoa-Kakular Copper Mine will be revised downward from 520,000- 580,000 tonnes to 370,000-420,000 tonnes.
Zijin Mining is the shareholder with the largest effective interest in the Kamoa-Kakul Copper Mine, currently holding an effective interest of approximately 44.44% (including the attributable interest corresponding to the Company's equity interest in Ivanhoe Mines Ltd.), and it is expected that the production volume of the Company's mine-produced copper in 2025 on attributable basis will be reduced by 44,000-93,000 tonnes accordingly. Following this incident, the shareholders of Kamoa Copper attach great importance to this matter and will engage an independent third party to initiate an investigation into this incident. Although the reduction of production volume in the high-grade section of the Kakula Mine will have a period of adverse impact on the project's production volume and profitability, as one of the world's top five ultra-large copper mines with large resources and exceptional resource endowment, the Kamoa-Kakum Mine will still maintain strong internal operational flexibility.
Among which, through the resumption of mining operations in the northern and southern areas of The western side of the Kakula Copper Mine, supplemented by ore from surface stockpiles and ore trucked from the Kamoa Mine, and initiating the construction of certain ultra-high copper grade mining area projects, the Phase 1 and 2 concentrators are expected to operate at a throughput of more than 80% of their combined design capacity at present (with significantly reduced ore feed grade). The Phase 3 concentrator and underground mining activities at the Kamoa Mine remain unaffected and will continue their strong operational performance. Following the full resumption of production, it will be entirely possible for the Kamoa-KAKula Copper Mine to continue striving towards achieving its previously set annual production targets in subsequent years.
Kamoa Copper is a joint venture of Zijin Mining. The Kamoa-Kakula copper Mine contributed RMB 1.72 billion to Zijin Mining's net profit attributable to owners of the parent for the year ended 31 December 2024, accounting for approximately 5.37% of the Company's net profit attributable to owners the parent for the year ended December 2024. The reduced production at the Kamoa-Kakform Copper Mine is expected to have a certain impact on the Company's net profit attributable of the parent for the year ending 31 December 2025.
The reduced production at theamoa-Kakula Copper mine is expected to have a certain effect on the Company's net profit attributed to owners of the parent for The reduced production at the company's net profit attributable to owners. The reduced production at the company will provide timely updates on the progress of production resumption of the eastern side of the eastern side of theakula Mine in periodic reports or by the company on a voluntary basis.
