The mining chain Ivanhoe Mines announced on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, an update of the resources of its Western Forelands exploration project in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Ivanhoe indicated that the Makoko, Makoko West and Kitoko deposits now total 8.38 million tons of copper in so-called “inferred” resources, nearly double the volume estimated in 2023. These new figures are the result of 86,000 meters of drilling carried out between November 2023 and February 2025. Ivanhoe groups these three deposits under the name “Makoko District”, a 13 km long area in which copper is present deep in geological formations similar to those exploited at the nearby Kamoa-Kakula mine. The new announcement is part of Ivanhoe's strategy to develop a second copper production center in the DRC. The Makoko district remains an exploration project, still far from the phases of feasibility, environmental studies or funding raising