Kamoa-Kakula — Benchmark Spread

Public-source divergence-publication on the seven highest-stakes screening metrics. Pre-vs-post-31-March-2026 compression divergence shape.

BENCHMARK SPREAD v1.0 9 MAY 2026

Spread shape. Kamoa-Kakula's Benchmark Spread is structurally distinct from greenfield Benchmark Spreads (Kabanga scope-driven; Manono contestation-driven; Loulo trajectory-and-durability; Lobito funder-stack-integrity). Kamoa-Kakula's spread is vintage-driven — multiple credible sources cite different metric values because the asset has multiple sequential primary-source disclosures (2020 DFS; 2023 IDP; 31 March 2026 NI 43-101) with materially different inputs. The most-defensible reading on each metric is the most-recent verified primary source applied to the screening question being asked.

Methodology. See Benchmark Spread Methodology for the discipline architecture.

1. Summary view — seven metrics

Metric2020 DFS / 2022 baseline2023 IDP31 Mar 2026 NI 43-101Most-defensible reading per screening questionConfidence
Probable Reserve (P+P) tonnage472 Mt @ 3.94% Cu (Dec 2022)466 Mt @ 2.82% Cu (effective 31 Dec 2025)466 Mt P+P (most-recent NI 43-101)HIGH
Contained Cu in reserves~18.6 Mt Cu~13.1 Mt Cu13.1 Mt Cu (~30% reduction; most-recent NI 43-101)HIGH
Mine life (years)33 years (Dec 2022)21 years (effective 31 Dec 2025)21 years (most-recent NI 43-101)HIGH
Annual production guidance2023 IDP run-rate ramp2026 290-330 kt; 2027 380-420 kt; 2028+ >500 kt (per 18 Feb 2026 Ivanhoe results)290-330 kt 2026 (operator current-year guidance)HIGH
CAPEX (per-phase)Phase 3 $3.04bn + Phase 4 $1.55bn (6 March 2023 IDP)Annual capex guidance 2026 $1.10-1.40bn; 2027 $750-950m2023 IDP per-phase as 2023-vintage; March 2027 Optimised FS pendingMEDIUM
NPV anchors$5.5bn / $6.6bn (Kakula DFS)$11.1bn / $19.1bn / $20.2bn (PFS anchors)Not separately disclosed; pending Optimised FS March 20272023 IDP anchors as 2023-vintage; re-anchor pending Optimised FSLOW
C1 cash cost ($/lb)$0.48/lb first-5-yr (DFS-stated literal)$1.06/lb LoM cycle-2 reference reconciling cost (vol-matched basis)Operator-disclosed in Ivanhoe FY disclosuresOperator-disclosed C1 in Ivanhoe FY disclosures (post-compression)MEDIUM

Confidence convention: HIGH = most-recent NI 43-101 primary source with explicit publication date and preparer attribution; MEDIUM = most-recent primary source available but pending Optimised FS update; LOW = pre-compression vintage anchors that the post-compression NI 43-101 has not yet replaced.

2. Metric 1 — Probable Reserve tonnage

SourceValueDateNotes
December 2022 Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource Statement (Ivanhoe)472 Mt P+PDecember 2022Pre-compression baseline
31 March 2026 NI 43-101 "Kamoa-Kakula Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource Technical Report"466 Mt P+PEffective 31 December 2025; released 31 March 2026Prepared by AMC Mining Consultants South Africa + MSA Group

The 6 Mt reserve-tonnage reduction is small in absolute terms; the 25-30% contained-Cu reduction is driven by grade compression (3.94% → 2.82% Cu), not tonnage. Most-defensible reading per the screening question: 466 Mt P+P at 2.82% Cu, applied with explicit recognition that the reserve grade compression rather than the tonnage is what materially affected the contained-Cu economics.

3. Metric 2 — Contained Cu reduction

SourceCalculationResult
December 2022 baseline472 Mt × 3.94% Cu~18.6 Mt Cu contained
31 March 2026 NI 43-101466 Mt × 2.82% Cu~13.1 Mt Cu contained
Reduction(18.6 - 13.1) / 18.6~29.6% reduction

The 30% contained-Cu reduction reflects May 2025 seismic event impact on Eastern Kakula, Kakula 2.0 mine plan revision, pillar-width adjustments, and depletion. Track Record entry 2.1 documents the platform's pre-31-March-2026 directional position on this compression. The compression is material but does not invalidate operating-asset economics; it requires LoM NPV re-anchoring rather than near-term-cash-flow re-pricing.

4. Metric 3 — Mine life compression

SourceValue
December 2022 baseline33 years
31 March 2026 NI 43-10121 years
March 2027 Optimised 5-Year Feasibility Study (targeted)Expected to revisit mine plan; may extend with Kakula 2.0 + Kamoa 2 + Kansoko + satellite deposits

The 12-year mine-life compression is the most institutionally-significant disclosure in the 31 March 2026 release. At ~310 kt/yr current-year production, 12 fewer years equates to ~3.7 Mt of contained-Cu output forgone vs prior horizon. The Optimised 5-Year FS targeted for March 2027 is the institutional decision-clarity event; institutional users carrying long-horizon DCF on Kamoa-Kakula should treat the post-March-2027 disclosure as the definitive horizon-recalibration anchor.

5. Metric 4 — Annual production guidance

Source202620272028+
Ivanhoe 2025 financial results (18 February 2026)290-330 kt380-420 kt>500 kt annualised
31 March 2026 NI 43-101 disclosureCapital guidance unchanged from 18 February baseline; production guidance not separately restated

The annual production guidance is intact across the compression; the platform's Kamoa-Kakula audit log documents the historic correction where the platform had used 2027's number (380-420) as 2026's guidance — corrected to 290-330 for 2026 with 380-420 as 2027. Institutional users running near-term-cash-flow DCF should anchor on 2026 guidance midpoint (310 kt); long-horizon DCF should incorporate 2027 ramp and 2028+ steady-state.

6. Metric 5 — Per-phase CAPEX vintage

The 2023 Integrated Development Plan Technical Report (6 March 2023, OreWin et al.) remains the most recent NI 43-101 disclosure of per-phase total capex: Phase 3 $3.04bn + Phase 4 $1.55bn. The 31 March 2026 disclosure addressed reserves/resources, not per-phase capex; annual capex guidance was set at $1.10-1.40bn for 2026 and $750-950m for 2027 in Ivanhoe's 18 February 2026 financial results, confirmed unchanged in the 31 March 2026 disclosure. The Optimised 5-Year Feasibility Study targeted for March 2027 is expected to revisit per-phase capex assumptions. Institutional users should treat the per-phase capex inputs as 2023-vintage citations pending the March 2027 feasibility study; explicit cost-inflation contingency through 2024-2026 should be applied as institutional-user judgment.

7. Metric 6 — NPV anchors and the DCF Test Battery

SourceNPV anchorBasis
2020 Kakula DFS$5.5bn$3.10/lb Cu real; 110 Mt @ 5.22% Cu life-of-mine production scenario
2020 Kakula DFS (higher Cu price)$6.6bnHigher Cu price assumption
2023 IDP Phase 1+2 PFS$11.1bnPhase 1+2 incremental
2023 IDP Phase 3 expansion$19.1bnPhase 3 incremental (separate from Phase 1+2)
2023 IDP full PFS$20.2bnFull integrated PFS
31 March 2026 NI 43-101Not separately disclosedPending Optimised 5-Year FS March 2027

The platform's DCF Test Battery is anchored to these 2023-vintage NPV figures. Cycle-2 reconciliation verified platform DCF tool convergence to within $0.0001/lb across C4.1 ($5.5bn) and C4.2 ($6.6bn) targets at vol-matched basis. The Optimised 5-Year FS March 2027 is expected to produce the post-compression NPV anchors that should replace the 2023-vintage figures for institutional-user DCF re-anchoring.

8. Metric 7 — C1 cash cost

SourceValueBasis
2020 Kakula DFS literal$0.48/lbFirst-5-years cash cost (NOT life-of-mine constant)
Cycle-2 reference reconciling cost (vol-matched basis)$1.06/lbLoM-average input that brings modelled NPV to $5.5bn target with all other published inputs held constant; reference DCF with ramp-up + sustaining capex + depreciation tax shield
Operator-disclosed C1 (post-compression)Refer Ivanhoe FY disclosuresAsset-level current cost basis

The $0.48/lb DFS literal first-5-years cash cost is frequently misapplied as a LoM constant; cycle-1 results documents this disambiguation explicitly. Institutional users running DCF on Kamoa-Kakula post-compression should anchor on operator-disclosed C1 cash cost in current Ivanhoe FY disclosures rather than on the DFS literal; the platform's reference reconciling cost ($1.06/lb LoM at vol-matched basis) provides a structurally defensible LoM-average benchmark.

9. What this Benchmark Spread does NOT do