Operations & Projects

The Western Forelands’ exploration budget has grown to $86 million, underscoring our commitment to unlocking the region’s world-class copper potential. The 2026 drilling program is set to be Ivanhoe’s largest to date, with more than 80,000 metres of diamond core and 16,000 metres of reverse circulation (RC) drilling planned. The diamond drilling program primarily focuses on step-out and infill drilling in the Makoko District. In addition, a 16,000-metre RC drilling program is planned for the Kamilli regional target area within the Western Forelands licence area.

Makoko District

Drilling confirmed the continuation of mineralization stepping further west from the Makoko area, opening up a new area called “Makoko West”, which revealed shallow and high-grade copper mineralization. As a result, the strike length of the Makoko mineralized district has now increased by 20%, to over 13 kilometres. The total strike length is comparable to that of the Kakula orebody, the main source of copper ore for the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex’s Phase 1 and 2 concentrators. The western edge of Kakula’s orebody is approximately 10 km from the eastern edge of the Makoko deposit.

On May 14, 2025, Ivanhoe Mines released an updated interim Mineral Resource on what has become known as the “Makoko Copper District”, which includes the high-grade Makoko, Makoko West, and Kitoko copper discoveries. Mineralization across the Makoko District remains open in multiple directions. Ivanhoe is targeting an additional updated Mineral Resource Estimate in Q2 2026 that will incorporate the remaining 84,000 metres of the 2025 diamond drilling program, of which 66,000 metres are planned across the Makoko District and 18,000 metres are planned on the regional programme, including a 336 km2 package of newly acquired exploration licences located west of Makoko West.

Kiala

Kiala, discovered in 2020, adjoins the northern boundary of the Kamoa-Kakula mining licence and is a northern extension of mineralization from this licence along a north-trending controlling growth structure, where a sulfur-rich siltstone layer is brought progressively closer to, and eventually overlain on the aquifer. This onlapping relationship brings two key mineralizing controls in contact with one another, resulting in a zone of high-grade mineralization parallel to the growth fault.

The Kiala Mineral Resource has been defined by drilling covering an area of 0.9 square kilometres. The average dip of the mineralized zone within the Indicated Resource is nine degrees.

The Mineral Resource estimate is based on the results from approximately 13,000 metres of drilling in 35 holes.

Total Western Forelands’ Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources estimates, per zone at a 1.0% cut-off grade.

Kitoko – Ivanhoe’s fifth high-grade sedimentary copper discover in the DRC

Kitoko has no surface expression or connection to shallower mineralization. It was identified through conceptual targeting adjacent to a prominent north-south lineament-fault structure in the airborne magnetics. Mineralization begins at approximately 950 metres and extends down to 1,250 metres depth below surface. High-grade mineralization has been identified in two zones – Kitoko West and Kitoko East – hosted in two sulfur-rich siltstones that pinch out as an onlap against a subtle basement high. These siltstones occur lower in the stratigraphic sequence than those at Makoko and Makoko West.

Kitoko East hosts some of the highest-grade drill hole intersections, including 5.2 metres at 11.6% copper from a depth of 1,134 metres. Mineralization at Kitoko East spans approximately 2 kilometres north-south and 1 kilometres east-west and remains open to the south and east.

Kitoko West is a narrower zone of approximately 500 to 600 metres wide, and appears to be closed off to the west, with weakening mineralization toward the south. Ongoing drilling is testing whether the onlapping siltstone units wrap around the basement high and connect with Kitoko East at depth.