Kakula underground. Credit: Zijin Mining
Seismic activity that disrupted output at a massive copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo appears self-induced, according to preliminary findings released by operator Ivanhoe Mines Ltd.
The incident last month, which flooded parts of the Kamoa-Kakula mine, began in an area where a “mature percentage” of ore had already been extracted, the company said in a Wednesday filing.
“Current thinking postulates that blocks of ore, earmarked for secondary extraction, started to yield in a cascading fashion, which resulted in stress redistribution onto regional pillars,” according to the preliminary geotechnical findings.
The setback has cast uncertainty on a project touted as one of few across the mining world to be built ahead of schedule and on budget. Ivanhoe’s Kamoa-Kakula had swiftly risen up the ranks of global copper mines, establishing the…
