Concentrator
Kipushi Concentrator
KICO operates the world’s highest-grade zinc mine, producing zinc, copper, germanium, silver and lead concentrates from the Kipushi orebody in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The 800,000-tonne-per-annum concentrator was completed in May 2024, with the first concentrate produced in June 2024.
The state-of-the-art plant incorporates dense media separation, milling and flotation, targeting industry-leading recoveries of 96% and an average concentrate grade of 55% contained zinc. The mine is expected to produce more than 278,000 tonnes of zinc in concentrate over its first five years, with 2026 production guidance of 260,000
to 290,000 tonnes.
KICO completed the concentrator debottlenecking programme ahead of schedule and under budget in August 2025. The programme increased throughput capacity by 20%, from 800,000 to 960,000 tonnes of ore per annum, and has already delivered materially higher zinc production, with multiple new operating records achieved following commissioning.
Multiple concentrator records have been achieved since the completion of the debottlenecking programme, driven by both improved throughput rates and the availability of dense media separation.
In the seven days following the early August 2025 shutdown, KICO produced a record 5,545 tonnes of zinc in concentrate, equivalent to an annual production rate of approximately 290,000 tonnes of zinc.
Sustaining this run rate would make the mine the world’s fourth-largest zinc operation.
In mid-August 2025, the concentrator set a further record, producing 1,052 tonnes of zinc concentrate over 24 hours, equivalent to an annualised production rate of more than 340,000 tonnes after accounting for availability.
Record Q4 2025 with 194,140 tonnes of ore milled at 36.2% zinc to produce a record 61,444 tonnes of zinc. Record January 2026 with 22,968 tonnesof zinc produced (270,000 tonnesof zinc annualized)
A defining achievement for KICO is that the concentrator is operated by a 100% Congolese team.
Around 80% of the plant workforce was redeployed from underground roles and completed a two-month training programme at the Kamoa-Kakula operation prior to plant commissioning.
This approach has built a deep base of local technical expertise, strengthened longterm career pathways for Congolese employees and demonstrated the ability of a national workforce to operate a world-class processing facility. KICO continues to invest in technical training, supervisory development and knowledge transfer to sustain operating performance and support future expansions.
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