On November 21, 2025, Kamoa Copper officially started up the recently completed Kamoa-Kakula Copper Smelter, Africa’s largest and greenest copper smelter. An opening ceremony was held to celebrate the igniting of the smelter’s furnace as its heat up begins. The event is a significant milestone for Kamoa Copper, the Lualaba Province and the broader Congolese mining industry, representing a major step forward in the clean, sustainable smelting of copper in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The opening ceremony, was far more than just a ribbon-cutting event; it was a story told with fire. The fire that lit the Kamoa-Kakula copper smelter furnace started in a village, many kilometres away near communities of Sammukoko, Cité Maseka and Cité Mpesa Moya. The source of the smelter’s fire was a traditional copper furnace, known as a Lwanzo lua mikuba. The traditional furnace was prepared by the Honourable Chief Musokantanda Sabuni Kafweku, who is a guardian of this local tradition. Chief Musokantanda, kindled a flame using the same ancestral methods and rituals that have defined the production copper in the DRC Copperbelt for generations.
From the Lwanzo lua mikuba, the Chief Musokantanda performed a traditional rite, using a single branch to light two lamps that were used to carry the fire many kilometres from the bush, to the smelter at Kamoa-Kakula. In a moment heavy with symbolism, Chief Musokantanda passed the ceremonial flames to Robert Friedland, Founder and Co-Chairman of Ivanhoe Mines. It was Mr Friedland’s vision that set the Kamoa-Kakula project in motion back in 1997.
“This was not just a ritual; it was the passing of a torch for the transformative change this smelter represents,” said Mr. Friedland, during the opening ceremony. “From a site where we once harvested grass, we now harness a fire blessed by tradition to power a facility that will set a new global standard.”
The flame’s journey continued as Mr. Friedland used the Chief Musokantanda’s lamps to light a large torch, which he then passed to Ivanhoe Mines’ President and Chief Executive Officer, Marna Cloete. The torch, a symbol of industrial revolution, was then handed to Kamoa Copper’s Managing Director, Annebel Oosthuizen, who passed it to Changdong Liu, Executive of the Kamoa-Kakula Smelter.
As the torch was passed from department to department, the entire team came together to light the smelter’s furnace, marking the occasion with a shared sense of accomplishment and excitement.
“This day belongs to every Kamoa employee,” declared Managing Director Annebel Oosthuizen. “You built this. We fired it up. This is our collective success. The fire we lit today is the light that will change the future—not just for Kamoa Copper, but for our community, our country, and our continent.”
The newly operational smelter is the beating heart of Kamoa’s future, engineered to be a powerhouse for:
- Local Empowerment: Driving unprecedented local beneficiation and creating specialized skills for Congolese talent.
- Green Leadership: Dramatically reducing Scope 3 emissions, establishing a new global benchmark for sustainable copper production.
- National Pride: Serving as a cornerstone for the industrialization of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The furnace is now lit and the Kamoa-Kakula smelter stands as a symbol of what is possible when tradition, innovation, and community come together.
About Kamoa Copper
The Kamoa Copper is a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines (39.6%), Zijin Mining Group (39.6%), Crystal River Global Limited (0.8%) and the DRC government (20%).
The Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex is one of the highest-grade and fastest growing major copper mining operations globally. Copper concentrates were first produced in May 2021 and, through on-going Phase 2 and Phase 3 expansions, Kamoa Copper is positioned to become one of the world’s largest copper producing operations.
The Kamoa Copper Complex is powered by clean, renewable hydro-generated electricity and is among one of the world’s lowest greenhouse gas emitters per tons of copper metal produced on a Scope 1 and 2 basis.