Ivanhoe Mines Issues 2025 Third-Quarter Financial Results, Overview of Construction and Exploration Activities

2025-10-29

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Ivanhoe Mines' reports Q3 2025 profit of $31M and adjusted EBITDA of $87M, including $76M of attributable EBITDA from Kamoa-Kakula

Stage Two dewatering of Kakula Mine advancing towards completion in early December; head grades to improve in Q4 2025 as higher-grade mining areas are reopened

Updated life-of-mine integrated development plan well underway for Q1 2026; targeting return of annualized copper production to over 550,000 tonnes

Africa's largest and greenest copper smelter to start up in the coming weeks

Commissioning 178-megawatt Turbine #5 at Inga II complete; initial additional 50 megawatts of hydropower supplied to Kamoa-Kakula from November

First feed of platinum-palladium-nickel-rhodium-copper-gold ore into the Platreef Phase 1 concentrator recently took place; first concentrate expected in coming weeks

Engineering contractor appointed for Phase 2 expansion of the Platreef Mine; earthworks to commence in Q1 2026

Kipushi produced a record 57,200 tonnes of zinc in Q3 2026; reaching annualized production rates of up to 315,000 tonnes of zinc in concentrate

Ivanhoe Mines' balance sheet strengthened by $500 million strategic private placement with Qatar Investment Authority

Johannesburg, South Africa--(Newsfile Corp. - October 29, 2025) - Ivanhoe Mines' (TSX: IVN) (OTCQX: IVPAF) President and Chief Executive Officer, Marna Cloete, and Chief Financial Officer David van Heerden today announce the company's financial results for the third quarter of 2025, as well as an operations and project development update.

Ivanhoe Mines is a leading Canadian mining company with three principal tier-one mining operations in Southern Africa. The company is primarily focused on operations at the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC); the ultra-high-grade Kipushi zinc-copper-lead-germanium mine in the DRC; and the ramping up of the Platreef platinum, palladium, rhodium, nickel, gold, and copper mine in South Africa.

In addition, Ivanhoe Mines is expanding the Makoko District copper discovery in the Western Forelands, as well as exploring for new sedimentary-hosted copper discoveries across its expansive and highly prospective exploration licence packages across the DRC, Angola, Zambia, and Kazakhstan.All figures are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated.

Founder and Co-Chairman Robert Friedland commented:

"At Kamoa-Kakula, our teams continue to work around the clock to complete the Stage Two dewatering. As this critical work is completed, underground workings and infrastructure are systematically inspected and rehabilitated to prepare for the resumption of mining activities in higher-grade areas.

"Meanwhile the engineering team of Kamoa Copper, together with Ivanhoe and Zijin, is working alongside world leading geotechnical experts to determine a conservative and responsible plan to increase mining rates from underground to fill our concentrators. We expect production to continue to rise over coming months and quarters, ultimately targeting over 550,000 tonnes of copper per year, reaffirming Kamoa-Kakula's position among the world's most essential and lowest-carbon copper producers.

"After almost thirty years of hard work, vision, and perseverance, the Platreef Mine has come to life. Today, as the first feed of ore entered the concentrator, a dream that began as a drill hole in the Limpopo dust in the last century is now a living, breathing mine. Platreef will prosper for generations to come as one of the lowest-cost and largest sources of platinum, palladium, rhodium, nickel, copper, and gold. We are incredibly proud of the thousands of dedicated, hard-working men and women who have made this dream a reality so far… but, we are only just getting started… the Phase 1 mine is just a baby first step to an operation that we'll be making 10 times larger, over two further phases of expansion.

"Meanwhile, Kipushi's rebirth as one of the world's great zinc mines is now complete - the debottlenecking program has elevated it to the ranks of the globe's top producers. Very soon, with copper from Kamoa-Kakula; zinc, copper, germanium, gallium and silver from Kipushi; as well as platinum, palladium, rhodium, nickel, copper, and gold from Platreef, Ivanhoe Mines stands on the threshold of becoming one of the largest and most significant producers of these critical metals to power our planet's future."

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Ivanhoe Mines' Q3 2025 adjusted EBITDA was $87 million, compared with $123 million for Q2 2025, which includes an attributable share of EBITDA from Kamoa-Kakula of $76 million. Ivanhoe Mines recorded a profit after tax of $31 million for Q3 2025, compared to $108 million for the same period in 2024 and $35 million in Q2 2025.

Kamoa-Kakula sold 61,528 tonnes of copper (net of payability) during the third quarter at an average realized copper price of $4.42/lb., compared with 101,714 tonnes in Q2 2025 at an average realized copper price of $4.34/lb. At the end of the third quarter, there were approximately 59,000 tonnes of unsold copper in inventory, up from approximately 53,600 tonnes at the end of Q2 2025. Inventory levels expected to normalize to approximately 17,000 tonnes as smelter ramp-up advances.

Kamoa-Kakula recognized revenue of $566 million, an operating profit of $69 million, and EBITDA of $196 million for the quarter, equivalent to an EBITDA margin of 35%. This compares with Q2 2025 EBITDA of $325 million.

Kamoa-Kakula's cost of sales per pound (lb.) of payable copper sold was $3.23/lb. for the third quarter, compared with $2.85/lb. in Q2 2025. Cash cost (C1) per pound of payable copper produced in the quarter averaged $2.62/lb., compared with $1.89/lb. in Q2 2025. Year-to-date cash cost (C1) averaged $1.97 /lb. and is on track to meet full year guidance of $1.90 to $2.20/lb. The higher cash costs during the quarter were primarily due to the processing of lower-grade ore and lower recoveries.

Kamoa-Kakula's 2025 capital expenditure guidance range of $1,420 million to $1,600 million has been lowered by $100 million to a range of $1,320 million to $1,500 million, with $910 million spent year to date. In addition, the 2026 capital expenditure guidance has been raised by $100 million from a range of $700 million to $1,200 million, to a range of $800 million to $1,300 million.

Kamoa Copper concluded a 2-year term facility of $500 million during the quarter, of which $370 million was drawn in early October 2025.

Kipushi sold a record 49,744 tonnes of zinc (net of payability) during the quarter, at an average realized zinc price of $1.27/lb., compared with 43,348 tonnes in Q2 2025 at an average realized zinc price of $1.23/lb.

Kipushi recognized a record quarterly revenue of $129 million, a segmented profit of $8 million, and EBITDA of $27 million for the quarter, equivalent to an EBITDA margin of 21%. This compares with an EBITDA of $9 million and an EBITDA margin of 10% in Q2 2025.

Kipushi's cost of sales per pound (lb.) of payable zinc sold was $1.11/lb. and the cash cost (C1) per pound of payable zinc sold totaled $0.95/lb.

Kipushi Mine's cash costs (C1) for the nine months ended September 30, 2025, averaged $0.95/lb. of payable zinc sold, at the mid-point of the 2025 guidance range of $0.90/lb. to $1.00/lb. of payable zinc sold.

Platreef capital expenditure is tracking at the lower end of 2025 guidance of $250 to $280 million, with $174 million spent year to date. Negotiations are progressing well for a $700 million Phase 2 senior project finance facility, which is expected to close in Q1 2026.

Ivanhoe Mines completed a private placement with Qatar Investment Authority during the third quarter, yielding gross proceeds of $500 million. A further $70 million in proceeds were received from Zijin following the exercise of its anti-dilution rights.

Ivanhoe Mines had cash and cash equivalents on hand of $1,056 million as of September 30, 2025.

OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

Quarterly copper production remained impacted by recovery efforts following seismic activity on the eastern side of the Kakula Mine, as reported on May 20, 2025.

During the third quarter of 2025, the Phase 1, 2, and 3 concentrators milled a total of 3.46 million tonnes of ore, producing 71,226 tonnes of copper. Copper production for the first nine months of 2025 totaled 316,393 tonnes. 2025 copper production guidance of 370,000 to 420,000 tonnes is maintained.

The Phase 3 concentrator milled 1.62 million tonnes of ore in the third quarter, producing 33,522 tonnes of copper. For a second consecutive quarter, the Phase 3 concentrator averaged a milling rate equivalent to 6.5 million tonnes per annum, which is 30% higher than its design capacity of 5.0 million tonnes per annum. The average quarterly feed grade for the Phase 3 concentrator was 2.44% copper.

Stage Two dewatering of the Kakula Mine is approximately 35% complete and is expected to be completed in early December 2025, at which point the underground water level is anticipated to be near the bottom of the Stage Two dewatering shafts. The central infrastructure enabling underground access between the north and south declines is expected to be dewatered in the coming week.

The four Stage Two high-capacity submersible pumps were commissioned over the course of two weeks between the end of August and mid-September. The four pumps are operating at the total design rate of approximately 2,600 litres per second. Including the mobile Stage One pump stations located underground, the total potential pumping rate at the Kakula Mine is 6,400 litres per second, or 550 megalitres per day, subject to available underground access.

To date, approximately 13 kilometres of lateral development have been rehabilitated. As the water level declines, the mining crews are primarily focused on rehabilitating the access drives required to reposition the Stage One underground pumping infrastructure, as well as the access to the Stage Three pump stations, which are currently submerged. The mining crews expect to start gaining access to the existing Stage Three pumping infrastructure in November.

Work is well underway on an updated life-of-mine integrated development plan. The plan includes a full review of both the Kakula and Kamoa mine plans, with the target of increasing mining rates up to 17 million tonnes per year, prior to the Phase 4 expansion. The review includes updates to several technical assumptions, which continue to evolve as the dewatering advances, supported by several industry experts and qualified persons (QPs) engaged by Kamoa Copper since the seismic activity occurred. Completion of the life-of-mine integrated development plan is targeted by the end of Q1 2026.

Production rates are expected to steadily improve once the Kakula Mine is dewatered, with annualized copper production returning to over 550,000 tonnes over the medium term. Ivanhoe Mines also plans to provide, by the latest in Q1 2026, an update on Kamoa-Kakula's medium-term production guidance and recovery plan.

Kamoa-Kakula's 500,000-tonne-per-annum on-site, direct-to-blister copper smelter, the largest in Africa, is expected to commence start-up in the coming weeks. Installation of the 60-megawatt (MW) uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system is nearing completion and will sustain smelter operations during periods of grid instability. The majority of concentrates produced by Phase 1, 2, and 3 concentrators are expected to be smelted on-site, resulting in significant cost savings on logistics costs, as well as by-product credits from sulphuric acid sales.

Construction of Kamoa-Kakula's on-site solar (PV) facilities, with battery storage, is well advanced. The two sites, with a combined capacity of 60 MW, are 42% and 46% complete, and are expected to be operational from Q2 2026.

Commissioning of the Inga II hydroelectric dam's 178-MW Turbine #5 was completed with energization, grid synchronization, and testing started on October 1, 2025. The Kamoa Copper Complex expects to receive an initial additional 50 MW of power from November 2025, ramping up to 150 MW over time as transmission improvement initiatives are completed.

At Kipushi, the concentrator milled a record 168,862 tonnes of ore at a record average grade of 37.8% zinc during the third quarter, producing a record 57,200 tonnes of zinc in concentrate at a contained grade of over 51% zinc.

Total year-to-date production from the Kipushi concentrator is 141,724 tonnes of zinc in concentrate. Following improved production rates from the debottlenecking program completed in August, Kipushi is well on track to meet its 2025 production guidance range of 180,000 and 240,000 tonnes of zinc.

The debottlenecking program was delivered ahead of schedule and on budget in August, with an industry-leading safety record. Throughout both the construction of the Kipushi concentrator, which started in September 2022 and was completed in June 2024, and the recently completed debottlenecking program, the project team at Kipushi did not record a single lost time injury (LTI). This is an outstanding and incredibly rare industry achievement.

Multiple concentrator records were achieved at Kipushi since the completion of the debottlenecking program. A record 6,064 tonnes of zinc in concentrate were produced over seven days in late August, equivalent to an annual production rate of over 315,000 tonnes of zinc, after accounting for availability. Sustaining this production rate would make the Kipushi Mine the world's third-largest zinc mining operation.

An additional six megawatts of back-up generator capacity are in the process of being installed at Kipushi. The new generators will increase the total onsite back-up power to 20 MW, sufficient to maintain operational continuity during periods of grid instability.

At the Platreef Mine, the first feed of platinum-palladium-nickel-rhodium-copper-gold ore into the Phase 1 concentrator took place on October 29, 2025. This event marks the final stage of the concentrator's hot commissioning. The first production of concentrate is expected in mid-to-late November. Phase 1 is the first step in a three-phase expansion plan that aims to make the Platreef Mine one of the world's largest and lowest-cost producers of platinum, palladium, rhodium, and gold, with copper and nickel byproduct credits.

Development ore will initially be fed into the Phase 1 concentrator until the new Shaft #3 is commissioned and is ready to hoist in March 2026. Thereafter, long hole stoping (production mining) of the Flatreef orebody is expected to commence in early Q2 2026.

Platreef's project team has already commenced work on the development of Phase 2, targeting first production in Q4 2027. Phase 2 production is expected to be more than four times larger than Phase 1, producing approximately 450,000 ounces of platinum, palladium, rhodium, and gold (3PE + Au), plus approximately 9,000 tonnes of nickel and 6,000 tonnes of copper from Q4 2027.

The engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM) contractor for the Phase 2 concentrator and mining has been appointed. Earthworks on the 3.3-million-tonne-per-annum Phase 2 concentrator site, located adjacent to the Phase 1 concentrator, and associated infrastructure are scheduled to commence in Q1 2026.

The Platreef Mine is projected to be the lowest-cost primary platinum-group-metals producer globally. The Phase 2 life-of-mine total cash cost is estimated to be $599 per ounce of 3PE + Au, net of nickel and copper by-product credits. This compares very favourably with a basket spot price of approximately $1,900 per ounce of 3PE + Au, as at October 24, 2025.

In the Western Forelands, Ivanhoe continues exploration across its vast licence area, adjacent to Kamoa-Kakula. Drilling efforts during the third quarter focused on the Makoko District, as well as the new target areas of Tshipaya and Kamilli. Drilling to the east of the Makoko District has identified an extension of mineralization that will continue to be tested for continuity during the fourth quarter. Preparations have been made to continue throughout the wet season, which is expected to commence imminently. An updated Mineral Resource for the Makoko District is planned for 2026.

In Kazakhstan, drilling commenced in July on Ivanhoe's joint venture licences. Two rigs have been deployed for a 17,500-metre diamond drilling program, with two holes completed to date. Concurrent with the drilling program, extensive geophysical and geochemical programs are underway across the licence package.

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Africa's largest and greenest copper smelter at Kamoa-Kakula is expected to start up in November. The installation of the uninterruptible power supply system is almost complete, as shown in the foreground.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/272406_84af4aec2403f89c_002full.jpg

Conference call for investors on Thursday, October 30, 2025

Ivanhoe Mines will hold an investor conference call to discuss the results on Thursday, October 30, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. Eastern time / 7:30 a.m. Pacific time. The conference call will conclude with a question-and-answer (Q&A) session. Media are invited to attend on a listen-only basis.

To view the webcast, use the link: https://meetings.lumiconnect.com/400-472-545-399

Audience Phone Number: Local - Toronto: (+1) 416-855-9085 Toll Free - North America: (+1) 800- 990-2777

An audio webcast recording of the conference call, together with supporting presentation slides, will be available on Ivanhoe Mines' website at www.ivanhoemines.com.

After issuance, the condensed consolidated interim financial statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis will be available at www.ivanhoemines.com and www.sedarplus.ca.

Read Ivanhoe's Q3 2025 Sustainability Review:

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To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/272406_84af4aec2403f89c_003full.jpg

During the third quarter of 2025, the group achieved a combined Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) of 0.34 and a Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate (TRIFR) of 1.03 per 1,000,000 hours worked. A breakdown of Ivanhoe's industry-leading health and safety performance can be found in the Q2 2025 Sustainability Review on the company's website:

https://www.ivanhoemines.com/investors/document-library/#sustainability

Principal projects and review of activities

1. Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex 39.6%-owned by Ivanhoe Mines Democratic Republic of Congo

The Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex is operated as the Kamoa Holding joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin Mining. The complex covers a licence area of 400 square kilometres and is approximately 25 kilometres southwest of the town of Kolwezi on the far western edge of the Central African Copperbelt.

Ivanhoe sold a 49.5% share interest in Kamoa Holding Limited (Kamoa Holding) to Zijin Mining and a 1% share interest in Kamoa Holding to privately owned Crystal River in December 2015. Kamoa Holding holds an 80% interest in the project, and the DRC government holds the remaining 20% interest. Ivanhoe and Zijin Mining, therefore, each hold an indirect 39.6% interest in Kamoa-Kakula, with Crystal River holding an indirect 0.8% interest. Kamoa-Kakula's full-time employee workforce is over 7,300, and approximately 90% are Congolese.

Copper production at Kamoa-Kakula commenced in May 2021, following the ahead-of-schedule completion of the Phase 1 concentrator. Since then, the Phase 2 and Phase 3 mine and concentrator expansions have also been successfully delivered ahead of schedule, ranking Kamoa-Kakula among the largest and highest-grade copper operations globally. The start-up of the 500,000 tonne-per-annum on-site direct-to-blister copper smelter is expected in Q4 2025, significantly lowering the carbon footprint and boosting the margins of Kamoa-Kakula's copper production.