KOLWEZI, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO – Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN; OTCQX: IVPAF) Co-Chairs Robert Friedland and Yufeng “Miles” Sun are pleased to announce that Kamoa Copper SA has appointed Ben Munanga as Chairman of its Board of Directors. Kamoa Copper is the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) operating company of the joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines, Zijin Mining Group, Crystal River and the Government of the DRC that is developing the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Mine.
Mr. Munanga has been the General Manager of Ivanhoe Mines Energy DRC (IVEN) – a sister company of Kamoa Copper that is responsible for delivering reliable, clean, renewable hydropower to the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Mine – since August 2015.
About Ben Munanga
Mr. Munanga has served as the General Manager of Ivanhoe Mines Energy DRC (IVEN) since August 2015.
Prior to joining IVEN, Mr. Munanga was the Head of Power, Infrastructure & Bulk Services with Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) since 2009.
Mr. Munanga is an electrical engineer. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Mons, Belgium. He currently is Chairman of the Energy Commission of the Chamber of Mines. Before joining the mining industry in 2006, he held various senior positions in Eskom, South Africa for 11 years.
In a concurrent move, Olivier Binyingo, Ivanhoe Mines’ Vice President Public Affairs DRC, was appointed to the Board of Directors of Kamoa Copper to further enhance Kamoa Copper’s collaboration with government partners and local communities.
Mr. Munanga replaces Louis Watum as Chairman of Kamoa Copper’s Board of Directors. Mr. Watum has been appointed General Manager of Ivanhoe’s Kipushi zinc-copper-silver project, a joint-venture with the DRC state-owned mining company La Générale des Carrières et des Mines (Gécamines). Mr. Watum also serves as President of the Chamber of Mines at the Federation of Enterprises of Congo (FEC).
“We would also like to acknowledge Ben for his excellent work in upgrading the Mwadingusha hydropower plant; a private-public partnership with the DRC’s state-owned power company La Société Nationale d'Electricité (SNEL) that is providing clean hydro-generated electricity to the national grid for Kamoa-Kakula’s Phase 1 and Phase 2 production, as well as local communities,” Mr. Friedland said. “During his six-year tenure at Ivanhoe Mines Energy DRC, Ben has become a trusted leader. His knowledge of our businesses and proven ability to partner across the industry make him ideal to advance our efforts at Kamoa Copper.”
“We are thrilled to have Ben and Olivier join Kamoa Copper’s board of directors as we pursue our goal of building an enduring, responsible, multinational mining company. Both Ben and Olivier are passionate advocates of the DRC mining industry, and we believe they will provide valuable perspectives as Kamoa Copper continues its journey to becoming the world’s greenest, major copper producer,” Mr. Friedland continued.
“We're immensely proud of Kamoa Copper’s outstanding commitment to social and environmental responsibility, as well as its significant investments in the development of policies and programs for workplace safety, diversity, community development, and education. We expect that this commitment will continue to strengthen under Ben’s leadership,” Mr. Friedland added.
“Mr. Watum’s appointment as head of the Kipushi Project is evidence of Ivanhoe’s intention of developing the mine in a timely fashion with the cooperation of our government partners and our host communities,” said Mr. Friedland.
About Olivier Binyingo
Olivier Binyingo, Ivanhoe Mines’ Vice President Public Affairs DRC, also was appointed to the Board of Directors of Kamoa Copper. Mr. Binyingo joined Ivanhoe Mines in November 2020 with a focus on enhancing relationships with the DRC’s public sector stakeholders of both the Kamoa-Kakula and Kipushi projects.
Olivier holds a Master of Laws from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium) and a Master in Security and Defence from the Université Grenoble Alpes (France).
Before joining Ivanhoe Mines, Mr. Binyingo held senior positions in a number of professional services firms, advising clients on their projects and operations on the African continent. Legal directory Chambers Global has consistently recognized Olivier as an expert on the Democratic Republic of Congo. In addition, he was ranked as one of the most influential lawyers in Francophone Africa in 2019 by Jeune Afrique.
About Louis Watum
Louis Watum joined Ivanhoe Mines in December 2014 as Managing Director of the company’s operations in the DRC. In March 2015, he was appointed to the additional role of General Manager, Kamoa Copper SA.
Prior to joining Ivanhoe Mines, between 2010 and 2014, he successfully led the development and commissioning of Randgold’s Kibali Project (Randgold’s interest in Kibali subsequently sold to Barrick Gold), which followed his work on the launch of Moto Gold Mines’ Moto Project from 2006 to 2009. He was the Operations Manager at the Yatela Gold Mine in Mali from 2001 to 2005.
Kamoa Copper Board of Directors
Mr. Binyingo joins Marna Cloete, Ivanhoe’s President and CFO, as Ivanhoe’s appointees on the Kamoa Copper board. Zijin Mining, Ivanhoe’s equal partner, also has two appointees on the board Abraham Li and Chen Yong and the Government of the DRC has one appointee Bernadette Mpundu Mpia. Mark Farren, Kamoa Copper’s Chief Executive Office, and Ben Munanga are the two appointees from Kamoa Copper’s management team.
The Kamoa-Kakula Copper Mine 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%). Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin Mining are co-funding development of the project. Initial copper concentrate production from the Kakula Mine, the first of multiple mines planned on the 400-square-kilometre Kamoa-Kakula mining licence, is scheduled to begin this July.
About Ivanhoe Mines
Ivanhoe Mines is a Canadian mining company focused on advancing its three principal joint-venture projects in Southern Africa: the development of major new, mechanized, underground mines at the Kamoa-Kakula copper discoveries in the DRC and at the Platreef palladium-platinum-nickel-copper-rhodium-gold discovery in South Africa; and the extensive redevelopment and upgrading of the historic Kipushi zinc-copper-germanium-silver mine, also in the DRC.
Kamoa-Kakula is expected to begin producing copper in July 2021 and, through phased expansions, is positioned to become one of the world's largest copper producers. Kamoa-Kakula and Kipushi will be powered by clean, renewable hydro-generated electricity and will be among the world’s lowest greenhouse gas emitters per unit of metal produced. Ivanhoe also is exploring for new copper discoveries on its wholly-owned Western Foreland exploration licences in the DRC, near the Kamoa-Kakula Project.
Information contacts
Investors: Bill Trenaman +1.604.331.9834 / Media: Matthew Keevil +1.604.558.1034
刚果民主共和国科卢韦齐—艾芬豪矿业(TSX: IVN; OTCQX: IVPAF) 联席董事长罗伯特·弗里兰德(Robert Friedland) 与孙玉峰(Miles Sun) 欣然宣布，卡莫阿铜业(Kamoa Copper SA) 正式委任本·穆南加(Ben Munanga) 为董事长。卡莫阿铜业是一家位于刚果民主共和国(以下简称“刚果(金)”) 的运营公司，目前正在开发艾芬豪矿业、紫金矿业集团、晶河全球及刚果(金) 政府合资的卡莫阿-卡库拉(Kamoa-Kakula) 铜矿项目。
穆南加先生自2015年8月以来，一直担任艾芬豪矿业刚果 (金) 能源公司 (以下简称“IVEN” ) 总经理。 IVEN为卡莫阿铜业的姊妹公司，专门负责为卡莫阿-卡库拉铜矿提供可靠的清洁、可再生水电。
关于本·穆南加 (Ben Munanga)
穆南加先生自2015年8月起担任艾芬豪矿业刚果 (金) 能源公司 (IVEN) 的总经理。
加入IVEN之前，穆南加先生自2009年起供职于欧亚自然资源资源公司 (ENRC) ，担任电力、基础设施和大型服务部主管一职。
穆南加先生是一名电气工程师，拥有比利时蒙斯大学 (University of Mons) 的电气工程学士学位。他目前是矿业商会能源委员会的主席。于2006年加入采矿行业之前，穆南加先生曾在南非国家电力公司Eskom效力了11年，期间出任多个高级职位。
与此同时，艾芬豪矿业刚果(金)公共事务副总裁奥利维尔·宾因戈(Olivier Binyingo) 被任命为卡莫阿铜业的董事，将进一步促进卡莫阿铜业与政府伙伴和当地社区之间的合作关系。
穆南加先生将会接替路易斯·瓦特姆担任卡莫阿铜业董事会的主席。瓦特姆先生则被委任为艾芬豪的基普什(Kipushi) 锌-铜-银矿项目的总经理，该项目是艾芬豪与刚果(金) 国有矿业公司杰卡明(Gécamines) 的合资项目。瓦特姆先生同时兼任刚果企业联合会 (FEC) 矿业商会的主席。
弗里兰德先生说﹕“我们也借此感谢穆南加先生在Mwadingusha水电站升级工程所作出的出色贡献。Mwadingusha水电站是公司与刚果(金)国有电力公司(以下简称“ SNEL”) 的合作项目，通过国家电网向卡莫阿-卡库拉I期和II期生产以及当地社区提供清洁的水电供给。穆南加先生效力IVEN的六年任期内，已经成为一位值得信赖的领导者。他对我们业务的了解以及被业界公认的合作能力，使他成为推进卡莫阿铜业发展的最佳人选。”
“我们对于穆南加先生和宾因戈先生加入卡莫阿铜业的董事会倍感高兴，他们的加入将帮助我们实现目标，负责任地建设可持续发展的跨国矿企。穆南加先生和宾因戈先生对于刚果(金)的矿业充满热诚。我们相信，他们将会提供宝贵的建议，助力卡莫阿铜业成为全球最环保的重大铜矿生产商。”
“对于卡莫阿铜业在社会和环境责任方面的杰出表现，以及其制定有关工作场所的安全、多样性、社区发展和教育方面的政策和计划所作的重大投资，我们感到非常自豪。我们期望在穆南加先生的领导下，这些承诺将会得到进一步的加强。”
弗里兰德先生接着说﹕“瓦特姆先生被委任为基普什项目的负责人，这证明了艾芬豪的决心，与我们的政府伙伴和运营社区携手合作，全速推进矿山开发。”
关于奥利维尔·宾因戈 (Olivier Binyingo)
艾芬豪矿业刚果(金) 公共事务副总裁奥利维尔·宾因戈同时被任命为卡莫阿铜业的董事会成员。宾因戈先生于2020年11月加入艾芬豪矿业，致力与卡莫阿-卡库拉和基普什项目的刚果 (金) 公共利益相关方加强关系。
奥利维尔拥有比利时天主教鲁汶大学 (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) 的法律硕士学位以及法国格勒诺布尔-阿尔卑斯大学 (Université Grenoble Alpes) 的国防与全球安全硕士学位。
加入艾芬豪矿业之前，宾因戈先生曾在多家专业服务公司担任高级职位，为客户在非洲大陆的项目和运营提供咨询服务。《钱伯斯全球法律指南》(Chambers Global) 一直公认奥利维尔为刚果(金) 的法律专家。此外，他在2019年被《青年非洲》杂志 (Jeune Afrique) 评为非洲法语国家最具影响力的律师之一。
关于路易斯·瓦特姆 (Louis Watum)
路易斯·瓦特姆于2014年12月加入艾芬豪矿业，担任刚果(金)业务的董事总经理，其后于2015年3月获委派同时兼任卡莫阿铜业总经理一职。
加入艾芬豪矿业之前，瓦特姆先生在2010 年至2014 年期间，成功领导了Randgold 的Kibali 项目(Randgold 持有的Kibali权益其后出售予Barrick Gold) 的开发和试运行，并在2006 年至2009 年期间参与了Moto Gold Mines 的Moto 项目的启动工作。2001 年至 2005 年，瓦特姆先生曾担任马里 Yatela Gold Mine 的运营经理。
卡莫阿铜业董事会
艾芬豪总裁兼首席财务官玛娜·科洛特 (Marna Cloete)和宾因戈先生被艾芬豪任命为卡莫阿铜业董事。艾芬豪的对等持股合作伙伴紫金矿业，同样任命两个席位，由陈勇先生和李志林先生担任董事。刚果(金)政府任命的一名董事为贝纳黛特·姆彭杜·姆皮亚 (Bernadette Mpundu Mpia) 。卡莫阿铜业首席执行官马克·法伦 (Mark Farren) 及本·穆南加为卡莫阿铜业高管团队任命的两名董事。
卡莫阿-卡库拉铜矿项目是艾芬豪矿业(占股39.6%)、紫金矿业集团(占股39.6%)、晶河全球(占股0.8%) 及刚果(金) 政府(占股20%) 的合资项目。艾芬豪矿业和紫金矿业共同为该项目提供资金。卡莫阿-卡库拉400平方公里开采许可区内规划了多个开采区域，卡库拉矿山作为首采区，将按计划于今年7月实现首批铜精矿生产。
关于艾芬豪矿业
艾芬豪矿业是一家加拿大的矿业公司，目前正推进旗下位于南部非洲的三大合资企业项目：位于刚果(金) 的卡莫阿-卡库拉铜矿和位于南非的普拉特瑞夫(Platreef ) 钯-铂-镍-铜-铑-金矿的大型机械化地下矿山开发工程；以及同样位于刚果(金)、久富盛名的基普什锌-铜-锗-银矿的大型重建和改善工程。
卡莫阿-卡库拉铜矿项目预计将于2021年7月实现铜精矿生产，并分阶段进行扩建，预计将会成为全球最大规模的铜生产商之一。卡莫阿-卡库拉和基普什将使用清洁、可再生的水电，并将成为世界上每单位金属温室气体排放量最低的矿山之一。同时，艾芬豪正在刚果(金)境内其全资拥有的、毗邻卡莫阿-卡库拉项目的西部前沿 (Western Foreland) 探矿权内寻找新的铜矿资源。
联系方式
投资者﹕比尔·特伦曼 (Bill Trenaman)，电话﹕+1.604.331.9834 /
媒体﹕马修·基维尔 (Matthew Keevil)，电话﹕ +1.604.558.1034