Kamoa Permit 13026

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This is the area that is covered by Kamoa Exploitation Permit 13026 which is part of the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Project. It was granted August 20, 2012 with a set expiry date of August 19, 2042, and has an area of 171.5 km2, covering 202 cadastral map quadrangles. The Permit grants Ivanhoe the right to explore for, develop, and exploit copper and other minerals for an initial 30 year term, then the permits can then be extended for 15 year periods until the end of the mine’s life. The mineral/metal rights granted are Silver, Bismuth, Cadmium, Cobalt, Copper, Iron, Germanium, Nickel, Gold, Palladium, Platinum, Lead, Rhenium, Sulphur and Zinc.

The previous ownership of the project was with Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin Mining Group Co. Limited each with 49.5%, Crystal River Global Limited 5%, and the DRC Government 5%. The current project ownership was the result of a change On November 11, 2016 when the DRC Minister of Mines and Minister of Portfolio, Ivanhoe, and Zijin signed an agreement that transferred an additional 15% interest in the Project to the DRC government. As a result of the transaction the interest in the project changed to Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin each holding an indirect 39.6% , Crystal River Global Limited 0.8%, and the DRC Government 20%.

To date the mineralisation identified for the Kamoa project is typical of sediment-hosted stratiform copper deposits. Regionally the geology is comprised of sedimentary rocks of the 880–500 Ma Katangan basin that were deposited on Paleoproterozoic composite basement rocks. Katangan strata occur on both sides of the DRC–Zambian border and define a northerly-directed thinskinned thrust-and-fold orogenic system, known as the the Lufilian Arc, which was the result of the convergence of the Congo and Kalahari cratons. The Katanga Supergroup is a sequence comprised of the metasedimentary rocks that host the Central African Copperbelt mineralisation, and include the Roan, Lower Kundelungu, and Upper Kundelungu Groups. Copper mineralisation can occur at several of the stratigraphic levels within these Groups.

At the Kamoa deposit diamictites are situated in the Lower Kundelungu at its contact with Roan sandstones, and the mineralised stratigraphic sequence at the base of the diamictite comprises several interbedded units that seem to affect copper mineralisation. From bottom upwards the units are: clast-rich diamictite (Ki1.1.1.1), sandstone and siltstone (Ki1.1.1.2), and clast-poor diamictite (Ki1.1.1.3). The lowermost clast-rich diamictite (Ki1.1.1.1) unit generally hosts lower-grade (<0.5% TCu) mineralisation. Most higher-grade mineralisation occurs within the clast-poor (Ki1.1.1.3) unit, or in the sandstone and-siltstone (Ki1.1.1.2) interbeds that are present locally between the clast-rich (Ki1.1.1.1) and clast-poor (Ki1.1.1.3) diamictites. Hypogene mineralisation is characterised by chalcopyrite and bornite dominant zones.

At the Kakula deposit it is more difficult to define and correlate the basal diamictite units with the Kamoa deposit due to significant thickening of the diamictite basal units. Mineralisation is concentrated within a basal siltstone layer occurring just above the Roan (R4.2) contact. From the base of mineralisation upward, the hypogene copper sulphides in the mineralised sequence are zoned with chalcocite (Cu2S), bornite (Cu5FeS4) and chalcopyrite (CuFeS2), with chalcocite being the dominant mineral. Copper mineralisation comprises three distinct styles: supergene, hypogene, and mixed mineralisation. Near the surface adjacent to the Domes the diamictites have been leached which resulted in localized zones of copper oxides and secondary copper sulphide enrichment down-dip in the supergene zones. Although high-grade, these supergene zones are relatively narrow and localised. Hypogene mineralisation forms the dominant mineralisation style and occurs at depths as shallow as 30 m.

On February 26, 2018 Ivanhoe announced a 50% increase in Indicated Mineral Resources at a 3% cut-off grade, at the ultra-high-grade Kakula Deposit. Kakula now contains Indicated Mineral Resources of 174 million tonnes at 5.62% copper, plus additional Inferred Mineral Resources of 9 million tonnes at 3.66% copper, at a 3% cut-off. At a 1% cut-off, Kakula’s Indicated Mineral Resources have increased by 58%, now totalling 585 million tonnes at 2.92% copper. Kakula’s strike length now extends to 13.3 kilometres and remains open for significant expansion. Kakula’s new estimate boosts combined Kamoa-Kakula Indicated Mineral Resources to 1.03 billion tonnes at 3.17% copper, containing approximately 72 billion pounds of copper, plus an additional 183 million tonnes of Inferred Mineral Resources at 2.31% copper, at a 1.5% cut-off.