# Kamoa-Kakula smelter, Africa's largest, produces its first copper anodes

Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/stories/kamoa-kakula-smelter-africa-s-largest-produces-its-first-copper-anodes-ee3e8133
Date: 5 Jan 2026
About: [Ivanhoe Mines](https://technooptimist.io/companies/ivanhoe-mines.md) · [Kamoa-Kakula copper complex](https://technooptimist.io/materials/kamoa-kakula.md)
Original source: https://africanreview.com/mining/kamoa-kakula-smelter-produces-first-copper-anodes

The US$1.1 billion direct-to-blister smelter produced its first 99.7%-pure copper anodes about five weeks after heat-up and one week after first concentrate feed. At design rate it will make 500,000 tonnes of anode a year plus up to 700,000 tonnes of sulphuric acid for local buyers. Surplus concentrate goes to the Lualaba smelter near Kolwezi.

## Key facts

- Furnace held at 1,250 °C for five days before first feed.
- Anodes carry about 99.7% copper per truck load instead of about 45% in concentrate.
- Backup: 60 MW uninterruptible supply, 180 MW diesel; 60 MW solar with storage under construction.

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