Congo’s giant copper discovery grows by nearly one-third to 12 million tonnes as prices hit record high

A major copper discovery in the Democratic Republic of Congo has grown by nearly one-third, strengthening the country’s position at the centre of the global race for metals needed for electricity grids, electric vehicles and data centres.

Canadian mining company Ivanhoe Mines said on Tuesday that additional drilling increased the copper contained in its Makoko District discovery by 30% to approximately 12 million tonnes.

The discovery forms part of Ivanhoe’s Western Forelands exploration project near Kolwezi, the mining centre of Congo’s copper-rich Lualaba province.

Since the previous estimate was completed, Ivanhoe has drilled approximately 64,000 metres across 106 holes. The work added about 2.76 million tonnes of contained copper to the resource estimate.

Makoko now has an indicated resource of 34 million tonnes of material grading 2.66% copper. A further 612 million tonnes grading 1.80% copper remains in the inferred category.