Ivanhoe Mines Executive Chairman Robert Friedland and Chief Executive Officer Lars-Eric Johansson this week welcomed the positive findings of an expanded, independent preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for the development of the Kakula Discovery at the Kamoa-Kakula Project on the Central African Copperbelt, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Given the dramatic expansion and upgrading of the copper resources delineated at Kamoa-Kakula during the past year, the new PEA incorporates potential increased mining rates that are 50% higher than the rates used in the December 2016 PEA. The Kamoa-Kakula Project – a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines, Zijin Mining Group and the DRC government – has been independently ranked as the world's largest high-grade, major copper discovery by international mining consultant Wood Mackenzie. The three potential development scenarios examined include: Initial mine development scenario.