Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. press release

Ivanhoe Mines Issues 2026 Second-Quarter Financial Results, Overview of Operations and Exploration Activities

2026-07-29

TSX - Toronto Stock Exchange · Copper · Silver · Germanium · Zinc · Lead · Platinum · Palladium · Rhodium · Nickel · Gold · Cobalt · Platinum Group Metals · Canada · Corporate Finance

Ivanhoe Mines' reports Q2 2026 profit of $46M and Adjusted EBITDA of $179M, including $152M of attributable EBITDA from Kamoa-Kakula

Kamoa-Kakula's smelter operating costs offset by high-strength sulphuric acid sales during Q2 2026

Sulphuric acid production averaging 1,250+ tonnes per day; Q3 contract prices up >100% this year to ~$840 per tonne

H2 2026 Kamoa-Kakula copper production rates set to increase; 2026 production guidance tightened to 290,000 to 310,000 tonnes of copper

2027 Kamoa-Kakula Updated Life-of-Mine Plan underway; new mine plan to be optimized with 250,000-metre in-fill drill program and trade-off studies

Commissioning of Kamoa-Kakula's solar facility with battery backup underway; full capacity expected by end of Q3

Platreef's Shaft #3 commissioned; new hoisting capacity to ramp up Phase 1 operations & Phase 2 expansion

Phase 2 concentrator earthworks advancing; construction on schedule for completion in Q4 2027

Kipushi produced record 70,177 tonnes of zinc in Q2 2026, at a cost of sales of $1.06/lb. and a cash cost (C1) of $0.90/lb., as prices climb to multi-year highs of $1.60/lb. of zinc

Western Forelands Mineral Resource upgrade expected in September; Makoko District copper discovery continues to grow

Johannesburg, South Africa--(Newsfile Corp. - July 29, 2026) - 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 second quarter of 2026, 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 Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC); the ultra-high-grade Kipushi zinc-copper-lead-germanium mine, also in the DRC; and the Platreef platinum, palladium, nickel, rhodium, gold, and copper mine in South Africa.

In addition, Ivanhoe Mines is expanding the Makoko District copper discovery in the Western Forelands, in the DRC, as well as exploring for new sedimentary-hosted copper discoveries across its vast and highly prospective exploration licence packages in the DRC, Angola, Zambia, and Kazakhstan.

All figures are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated.

Founder and Co-Chairman Robert Friedland commented:

“Our operational recovery at Kamoa-Kakula is gathering momentum and we firmly believe we have turned the corner… Mining rates have continued to improve at both Kamoa and Kakula as underground development advances and additional mining areas are brought online. We intend to have higher copper production in the second half of 2026, setting the foundation for an even stronger 2027.

“Despite elevated global diesel prices during the quarter, the impact on our operating costs has been well contained. Both our Kamoa-Kakula and Kipushi operations remain comfortably within our cash cost guidance ranges.

“Our world-class smelter at Kamoa-Kakula provides a natural hedge while flows through the Strait of Hormuz remain constrained. During the second quarter, revenues from sulphuric acid sales covered the smelter's operating costs… With sulphuric acid prices increasing by a further 80% into the third quarter, this extremely valuable by-product credit will provide a strong tailwind for Kamoa-Kakula for the foreseeable future.

“Kipushi delivered another outstanding quarter, achieving yet another production record as zinc prices reach multi-year highs. We continue to examine ways to unlock the high concentrations of gallium and germanium at Kipushi, two metals critical to the resilience of global supply chains.

“Beyond our operating mines, we continue to unlock extraordinary value across the Western Forelands. We look forward to publishing a significant Mineral Resource update in September, which we believe will further demonstrate that this emerging copper district is one of the most important new discoveries anywhere in the world.

“Our balance sheet will further strengthen in the second half of 2026 as we monetize our stockpiles of unsold metal… at a time when metal prices outperform at $13,700 per tonne of copper and $3,600 per tonne of zinc. At Kamoa-Kakula we currently hold 40,000 tonnes of unsold copper, and at Kipushi we currently hold 44,000 tonnes of unsold zinc. As the price of copper and zinc rises, so does the value of these stocks… You may enjoy doing math to determine the value of these stockpiles of copper and zinc.”

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

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Ivanhoe Mines recorded a profit of $46 million for Q2 2026, compared with a $2 million loss for Q1 2026. The quarterly improvement in profit was attributable to Kamoa-Kakula's $16 million share of profit and Kipushi's $27 million segmental profit.

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Ivanhoe Mines recorded Adjusted EBITDA of $179 million in Q2 2026, compared to $123 million for the same period in 2025. The Adjusted EBITDA includes an attributable share of EBITDA from Kamoa-Kakula of $152 million, compared to $128 million for the same period in 2025.

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Kamoa-Kakula sold 61,249 tonnes of copper (net of payability) during the second quarter at an average realized copper price of $5.99/lb., compared with 66,619 tonnes in Q1 2026 at an average realized copper price of $5.79 per pound (lb.). At the end of the second quarter, there were approximately 40,000 tonnes of unsold copper in inventory, which was unchanged from the end of the first quarter. The planned destocking of unsold copper inventory is now expected to take place during the second half of 2026.

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Kamoa-Kakula recognized revenue of $880 million, an operating profit of $160 million and EBITDA of $385 million for the quarter, equivalent to an EBITDA margin of 44%.

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Kamoa-Kakula's cost of sales per pound of payable copper sold was $4.86/lb. for the second quarter, compared with $3.90/lb. in Q1 2026. The elevated cost of sales was primarily due to $1.35/lb. in depreciation charges during the quarter.

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Kamoa-Kakula's cash cost (C1) per pound of payable copper produced averaged $2.84/lb. during the quarter, compared with $2.58/lb. in Q1 2026. Cash cost (C1) for the first six months of 2026 averaged $2.70/lb., well within the full year guidance range of $2.60/lb. to $3.00/lb.

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Kamoa-Kakula's Q2 2026 smelter operating costs averaged $0.41/lb., which were largely offset by $0.39/lb. in sulphuric acid by-product credits. In addition, logistics charges in Q2 2026 averaged $0.24/lb, similar to Q1 2026 and approximately one-third of the cost prior to the commencement of smelter operations. The logistics cost improvements result from exporting 99.7%-pure copper anodes during the quarter, compared with exporting concentrate containing 35% to 40% copper prior to the start-up of the smelter.

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Kamoa-Kakula sold 119,603 tonnes of high-strength sulphuric acid during the quarter, at an average price of $465 per tonne. The sulphuric acid offtake contracts for July and August delivery are expected to average approximately $840 per tonne. Sulphuric acid prices are expected to remain elevated for the foreseeable future.

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Kamoa-Kakula’s capital expenditure in Q2 2026 was $284 million. Capital expenditure during H1 2026 was $592 million, with total spend for 2026 tracking in line to achieve the full-year guidance range of $1,100 million to $1,400 million.

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Kipushi sold 43,424 tonnes of zinc (net of payability) during the quarter, at an average realized zinc price of $1.58/lb., compared with 54,940 tonnes in Q1 2026 at an average realized zinc price of $1.47/lb. The decrease in sales volumes during the quarter was due to logistical constraints, resulting in an increase in unsold zinc in concentrate held in inventory by approximately 14,000 tonnes of payable zinc. Destocking of this build up in unsold zinc is expected in H2 2026.

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Kipushi recognized quarterly revenue of $146 million, a segmented profit of $27 million and EBITDA of $51 million in Q2 2026, which is equivalent to an EBITDA margin of 35%. This compares with an EBITDA of $58 million and an EBITDA margin of 36% in Q1 2026.

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Kipushi’s cost of sales per pound of payable zinc sold was $1.06/lb. for the second quarter, and was also $1.06/lb. in Q1 2026. Cash cost (C1) per pound of payable zinc sold averaged $0.90/lb. during the second quarter. Kipushi is on track to achieve the full-year cash cost (C1) guidance of $0.85/lb. to $0.95/lb., with cash cost (C1) for H1 2026 averaging $0.88/lb.

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Platreef's capital expenditure during Q2 2026 was $83 million and $150 million for the first half of the year. The full-year guidance range of $350 million to $380 million is unchanged and relates to the ongoing Phase 2 expansion.

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Financial close of the Platreef Mine’s $700 million Phase 2 senior project finance facility was achieved on April 30, 2026. The Phase 2 facility amended and upsized the Phase 1 facility, resulting in approximately $600 million in net additional capital provided by a syndicate comprising of Societe Generale, Absa Bank Limited, and Nedbank Limited. In July, Platreef drew and received $87 million from the new facility.

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Ivanhoe Mines had cash and cash equivalents on hand of $635 million as at June 30, 2026.

OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

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In Q2 2026, Kamoa-Kakula produced 64,328 tonnes of copper contained in anode, blister and slag concentrate held for sale. 62,072 tonnes of anode were produced by Kamoa-Kakula's copper smelter, and 2,256 tonnes of copper in blister were produced by the Lualaba Copper Smelter (LCS) in Kolwezi.

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Kamoa-Kakula's on-site smelter is the largest copper smelter in Africa and has been operating at approximately 60% of capacity since mid-February. The smelter produced 112,307 tonnes of high-strength sulphuric acid during the quarter. The production rate is currently approximately 1,250 tonnes per day, which is equivalent to approximately 60% of design capacity.

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Ivanhoe Mines tightens 2026 production guidance range to 290,000 to 310,000 tonnes of copper (from 290,000 to 330,000 tonnes of copper) in anode, blister or saleable slag concentrate. The 2027 copper production guidance range of 380,000 to 420,000 tonnes of copper remains unchanged.

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Work on a new Kamoa-Kakula life-of-mine study commenced in the second quarter. The new study, called the 2027 Updated Kamoa-Kakula Life of Mine Plan (2027 Kamoa-Kakula LOM) is planned for completion in late Q1 2027 and will build on the key recommendations from the 2026 Kamoa-Kakula Mineral Resource Estimate (2026 Kamoa-Kakula MRE), which was released on March 31, 2026. The 2027 Kamoa-Kakula LOM will outline, in greater detail than the 2026 Kamoa-Kakula MRE, the ramp-up to 500,000 tonnes of annualized copper production from 2028 onwards, at a target cash cost (C1) of approximately $2.00/lb. or less.

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2027 Kamoa-Kakula LOM will include significantly improved geotechnical and hydrological models for Kamoa and Kakula. The improved models will be informed by a new 250,000-metre drilling program, which commenced in July. In addition, various technical trade-off studies are underway aimed at improving the extraction efficiency and rate of ore from both mines.

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Commissioning of Kamoa-Kakula’s on-site hybrid solar photovoltaic (PV) facility with battery energy storage system (BESS) is nearing completion. The facility is expected to be fully ramped up and delivering a continuous baseload of 60 MW to the copper complex by Q3. The first 15 MW of power was delivered in July. The facility is the largest hybrid solar PV with BESS installed on a mine site in Africa.

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Kamoa-Kakula is advancing plans to double the on-site hybrid solar capacity. A tender was awarded, and a power purchase agreement (PPA) was signed in late April for an additional 30 MW of capacity. The tender for an additional 30-MW facility is in the final stages of being awarded. By the end of 2027, Kamoa-Kakula is expected to be supplied with approximately 120 MW of continuous baseload power by the on-site facilities.

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Kamoa-Kakula's Project 95 upgrades to the Phase 1 and 2 concentrators were completed and commissioned by the end of the second quarter. During Q3, concentrator recoveries are expected to improve. Depending on feed grade, concentrator recoveries are expected to increase to between 90% and 95%.

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At Kipushi, the concentrator milled a record 200,774 tonnes of ore at an average grade of 38.7% zinc during the second quarter, producing a record 70,177 tonnes of zinc in concentrate.

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Construction of Kipushi's newly expanded tailings storage facility was completed during the quarter. The facility is compliant with the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) and is among the smallest tailings storage facilities of any major base metal mine globally.

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The tender for Kipushi's hybrid solar PV project is expected to be awarded in the fourth quarter. The facility will be designed to provide 10 MW of continuous baseload power, providing approximately 50% of the site's energy needs. The facility is expected to be operational in Q2 2028.

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Ivanhoe Mines maintains 2026 production guidance for the Kipushi Mine of 240,000 to 290,000 tonnes of zinc in concentrate, making it one of the top three zinc mines in the world.

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At Platreef, the Phase 1 concentrator milled 37,296 tonnes of ore during Q2 2026, at an average feed grade of 2.19 grams per tonne, producing 1,538 ounces of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold (3PE +Au). Phase 1 operations have not yet reached commercial production. Therefore, production rates achieved to date are not representative of steady-state conditions.

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Hoisting rates improved significantly during the quarter, following the completion of Shaft #3. Commissioning of Shaft #3 and supporting underground infrastructure was completed on schedule in June. Shaft #3 enables greater flexibility in hoisting both ore and waste rock to the surface, supporting the Phase 1 ramp-up to full capacity and the Phase 2 expansion from Q4 2027.

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Stoping (production mining) of higher-grade ore within the Flatreef orebody commenced at the end of the second quarter; completing two stopes to date. Mining rates are expected to ramp up throughout H2 2026. Commercial production is now expected in Q4 2026.

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Platreef's project team continue to advance the construction of the Phase 2 concentrator, which is targeted for completion in Q4 2027. Construction activities broke ground on the 3.3-million-tonne-per-annum Phase 2 concentrator site on April 9, 2026. Phase 2 is expected to have a design capacity of over 450,000 ounces of platinum, palladium, rhodium, and gold (3PE + Au), plus approximately 9,000 tonnes of nickel and 6,000 tonnes of copper.

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The widening of Shaft #2 from its current diameter of 3.1 metres to 10 metres commenced at the start of the second quarter. Shaft #2 is expected to be ready to hoist labour and materials by the end of 2028 and ore by the end of 2029.

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In the Western Forelands, drilling continues to expand the footprint of the Makoko District, with mineralization now within eight kilometres of Kamoa-Kakula's Kakula West deposit.

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Early project development workstreams commenced in Q2 at Makoko, including the establishment of site perimeters, baseline studies and various regulatory processes, including a community resettlement and livelihood restoration program. The updated 2026 Mineral Resource estimate will now be released in September once these workstreams are more advanced.

Conference call for investors on Thursday, July 30, 2026

Ivanhoe Mines will hold an investor conference call to discuss the results on Thursday, July 30, 2026, 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/400-215-425-413

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.comand www.sedarplus.ca.

Read Ivanhoe's Second Quarter 2026 Sustainability Review:

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

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To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/307108_911b1cfe747aea72_002full.jpg

During the second quarter of 2026, the group achieved a combined Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) of 0.53 and a Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate (TRIFR) of 1.91 per 1,000,000 hours worked. Regrettably, one loss-of-life incident occurred underground at the Kakula Mine after the end of the quarter.

A breakdown of Ivanhoe's health and safety performance is available in the Q2 2026 Sustainability Review.

Principal projects and review of activities

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

Kamoa Holding holds an 80% interest in Kamoa-Kakula, with the DRC government holding 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 7,481, and over 90% are Congolese.

Copper production at Kamoa-Kakula commenced in May 2021 from the Phase 1 concentrator, which was delivered ahead-of-schedule. Two further concentrator expansions were also subsequently successfully delivered, also ahead of schedule, as well as an on-site 500,000-tonne-per-annum, direct-to-blister copper smelter produced the first batch of 99.7%-pure copper anodes in late 2025. Kamoa-Kakula ranks among the largest and highest-grade copper complexes globally.

Kamoa-Kakula summary of operating and financial data

| | Q2 2026 | Q1 2026 | Q4 2025 | Q3 2025 | Q2 2025 | | | | | | | | | Ore tonnes milled (000's tonnes) | 2,968 | 3,108 | 3,374(4) | 3,456 | 3,622 | | Copper ore grade processed (%) | 2.39% | 2.32% | 2.35% | 2.47% | 3.58% | | Copper recovery (%) | 87.4% | 85.6% | 85.7% | 82.7% | 85.4% | | Copper in concentrate produced (tonnes) | 61,134 | 61,906 | 71,569 | 72,143 | 112,009 | | Contained copper in blister or anode produced (tonnes)(1) | 64,328 | 71,417 | - | - | - | | Payable copper sold (tonnes)(2) | 61,249 | 66,619 | 78,469 | 61,528 | 101,714 | | Cost of sales per pound ($ per lb.) | 4.86 | 3.90 | 3.80 | 3.23 | 2.85 | | Cash cost (C1) ($ per lb.)(3) | 2.84 | 2.58 | 2.99 | 2.62 | 1.89 | | Realized copper price ($ per lb.) | 5.99 | 5.79 | 4.98 | 4.42 | 4.34 | | | | | | | | | Sales revenue before remeasurement ($'000) | 847,627 | 872,539 | 782,691 | 555,293 | 868,846 | | Remeasurement of contract receivables ($'000) | 32,818 | (10,237) | 83,353 | 11,072 | 6,443 | | Sales revenue after remeasurement ($'000) | 880,445 | 862,302 | 866,044 | 566,365 | 875,289 | | | | | | | | | EBITDA ($'000) | 384,887 | 397,476 | 331,121 | 195,597 | 325,181 | | EBITDA margin (% of sales revenue) | 44% | 46% | 38% | 35% | 37% |

All figures in the above tables are on a 100%-project basis. Metal reported in concentrate is before refining losses or deductions associated with smelter terms. This release includes "EBITDA", "Adjusted EBITDA", "EBITDA margin", "Pro-rata cash and cash equivalents" and "Cash cost (C1)", which are non-GAAP financial performance measures. For a detailed description of each of the non-GAAP financial performance measures used herein and a detailed reconciliation to the most directly comparable measure under IFRS Accounting Standards, please refer to the non-GAAP Financial Performance Measures and Pro-Rata Financial Ratios sections of the MD&A for the three months ended June 30, 2026.