According to Lundin, the copper and cobalt hydroxide plant design and procurement is substantially complete, while cobalt refinery and acid plant design and procurement are under way. Construction progress has increased over the last several months since the end of the rainy season, aided by additional construction and logistics management brought in by Freeport from various global mining projects.

Tailings embankment construction, concrete installation, structural steel, process tank and pipe rack erection are advanced. SAG mill components, mixersettler cells, and other equipment and bulk materials are on site in anticipation of mechanical equipment and piping installation commencing in August.

The project's construction and operations work force includes more than 4,500 workers, most of which are Congolese. More than 100 Congolese employees have undergone training at various Freeport global mining operations and are being mobilized to site for construction assistance and pre-production activities.

Lundin said that pre-stripping of the Kwatebala deposit is enabling high grade ore stockpiling to support a rapid plant startup. Last September the project began using a continuous miner in a firstever application for sedimentary-hosted copper mining. This miner eliminates the need for traditional blasting and crushing of the ore and provides for highly selective mining of high-grade material. Lundin said the continuous miner has met and exceeded performance expectations and a second unit has been ordered.

In late June, supported by results from site exploration and ongoing Freeport process test work, meetings were held on major expansion planning. A series of mine expansion objectives is evolving and studies are advancing for the first phase of oxide plant expansion with construction to potentially commence immediately upon initial operations startup next year.