Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. press release

Ivanhoe Mines Issues 2023 Fourth Quarter and Annual Financial Results, Overview of Construction and Exploration Activities

2024-02-26

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

Ivanhoe Mines recognized profit of $303 million, record normalized profit of $388 million and record adjusted EBITDA of $604 million in 2023

Kamoa-Kakula recognized record annual revenue of $2.70 billion and record EBITDA of $1.68 billion in 2023

Kamoa-Kakula milled a record 8.54 million tonnes in 2023 at an average grade of 5.23% copper

Kamoa-Kakula produced 393,551 tonnes of copper in concentrate in 2023, achieving its production guidance range despite intermittent grid instability

Kamoa-Kakula reported cash cost (C1) of $1.45 per lb. copper in 2023, at the mid-point of guidance range

Phase 3 concentrator project 82% complete and ahead of schedule for targeted ramp-up in June 2024; smelter complex 76% complete and on schedule for commissioning in Q4 2024

Kamoa-Kakula best-in-class carbon emissions per unit of copper (Scope 1, 2 and 3) set to reduce by further 46% following completion of 500,000 tonne-per-annum, on-site smelter from Q4 2024

Refurbishment of Turbine #5 at Inga II dam 60% complete; on-schedule and on-budget to produce 178 MW of green hydroelectric power from Q4 2024

Ongoing drilling of the high-grade Kitoko Discovery in the Western Forelands expands strike length to 2 km

Kipushi concentrator approximately 85% complete and ahead of schedule for first production in Q2 2024

Optimized Platreef development plan to bring forward Phase 2 production at 4 Mtpa by equipping Shaft 3 for hoisting

PEA underway for new Phase 3 expansion to 10 Mtpa to rank Platreef as one of the world's largest and lowest cost PGM and base metal producers

Ivanhoe Mines to host conference call for investors on February 26

Hollywood, Florida--(Newsfile Corp. - February 26, 2024) - Ivanhoe Mines' (TSX: IVN) (OTCQX: IVPAF) President Marna Cloete and Chief Financial Officer David van Heerden are pleased to present today, ahead of the 33rdBMO Global Metals, Mining & Critical Minerals Conference in Hollywood, Florida, the company's financial results for the year ended December 31, 2023, and provide an operations and project development update.

Ivanhoe Mines is a leading Canadian mining company developing and operating its four principal mining and exploration projects in Southern Africa: expanding operations at the world-class Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex (Kamoa-Kakula) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); building the tier-one Platreef palladium, nickel, platinum, rhodium, copper and gold development in South Africa; restarting the historic, ultra-high-grade Kipushi zinc-copper-lead-germanium mine in the DRC; as well as exploring the expansive exploration licences of Ivanhoe's Western Forelands for copper discoveries adjacent to Kamoa-Kakula. All figures are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated.

Watch a February 2024 video highlighting Ivanhoe Mines' construction and exploration activities: https://vimeo.com/916425207/bc28308e24

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Ivanhoe Founder and Executive Co-Chairman Robert Friedland commented ahead of delivering his keynote speech at the 33rd BMO Global Metals, Mining & Critical Minerals Conference in Hollywood, Florida, on February 26 at 12:30pm ET:

"Kamoa-Kakula continues to exceed expectations in terms of overall performance, with Phase 1 and 2 mill throughput, copper recoveries and underground mining operations registering strong results in 2023 - and in many cases outperforming nameplate capacity. Delivering a project of this calibre and scale on budget and ahead of schedule is a true anomaly in the mining industry, which is often plagued by cost overruns and delays. This track record of success will continue as we ramp-up the Phase 3 concentrator and underground mines significantly ahead of schedule late in the second quarter of 2024 … which will position Kamoa-Kakula as the world's third-largest copper mining complex just eight years after Ivanhoe geologists reported the initial discovery hole at the Kakula deposit."

"We are working proactively to address power intermittency and expect this to be a short-term issue. Kamoa-Kakula will have full back-up generator redundancy for the Phase 1 and Phase 2 operations in July, and we are well advanced in discussions with our partners in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as the government of Zambia, to address the situation permanently, as we bring Phase 3 operations and the smelter complex online. Kamoa-Kakula will be fully powered by green hydroelectricity over its generationally long life, and we are excited to work with the Congolese government to develop all the infrastructure that will support the world's newest major copper mining district, which extends onto Ivanhoe's majority-owned Western Forelands licenses."

"We are looking forward to another transformative, industry-leading year at Ivanhoe Mines. Seven drill rigs, and counting, are currently turning across the Western Forelands, including expanding the high-grade Kitoko discovery. Discovering and developing new world-scale copper resources on the Western Forelands represents the highest possible return on capital that Ivanhoe Mines can drive for our shareholders. Our geology team just drilled a wedge from hole DD008 that re-confirms the extremely significant discovery of sedimentary bonanza-grade copper over 11% grade directly on the Kibaran basement."

"We are also just a few months away from first production at Kipushi, bringing this legendary mine back to life a century on from when it first produced as the world's highest-grade open pit copper mine. At Platreef, we will complete the construction of the proof-of-concept, 'baby' Phase 1 mine this year; however, we now have even greater focus on quickly unlocking the Phase 2 expansion of this remarkable resource endowment. Our team is razor focused on delivering these major milestones for our stakeholders and shareholders, as we take the next vital steps on our journey to emerge as the world's most dynamic, new major diversified mining company."

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Ivanhoe Mines recorded a profit of $303 million in 2023, equivalent to $0.26 per share, and normalized profit of $388 million, equivalent to $0.33 per share. The normalized profit excludes an $85 million loss on fair value on the convertible notes following the 20% appreciation in the share price from C$10.70 to C$12.85 during the year.

Ivanhoe's profit for the year includes Ivanhoe Mines' share of profit and finance income from the Kamoa-Kakula joint venture of $482 million for 2023, up from $405 million in 2022.

Ivanhoe Mines' Adjusted EBITDA was $604 million in 2023, up from $491 million in 2022, which includes an attributable share of EBITDA from Kamoa-Kakula of $664 million.

Kamoa-Kakula recognized record revenue of $2.70 billion, operating profit of $1.45 billion and EBITDA of $1.68 billion for 2023.

Cash cost (C1) per lb. of payable copper produced in 2023 totaled $1.45/lb., compared to $1.39/lb. in 2022. This achieved the mid-point of the guidance range of $1.40/lb. to $1.50/lb.

Kamoa-Kakula sold 375,779 tonnes of copper (net of payability) in 2023 at a cost of sales per pound (lb.) of payable copper of $1.33/lb., compared with $1.09/lb. in 2022. At year-end, approximately 9,100 tonnes of finished copper in concentrate remained in the warehouse or was in the process of being tolled at a nearby smelter, with a carrying value at cost, for accounting purposes, of $22 million. These 9,100 tonnes of copper have a significantly higher net realizable value based on current copper prices of approximately $8,580 per tonne.

Since entering Phase 1 commercial production on July 1, 2021, the Kamoa-Kakula joint venture has generated $3.6 billion of EBITDA.

Ivanhoe Mines completed a private placement offering of 47,917,050 Class A common shares for aggregate gross proceeds of C$575 million (approximately $430 million) in December 2023. Ivanhoe has a strong balance sheet with cash and cash equivalents of $574 million on hand as at December 31, 2023.

Ivanhoe Mines announces Kamoa-Kakula's full-year cash cost (C1) guidance for 2024 of $1.50/lb. to $1.70/lb of payable copper produced.

Increased cash cost guidance in 2024, relative to 2023, reflects in part the favorable early commissioning of the Phase 3 concentrator late in the second quarter of 2024. The early commissioning of the Phase 3 concentrator will require additional backup power generation for the remainder of 2024, until the Inga II dam hydroelectric dam refurbishment is complete at year-end. Phase 3 and associated backup power generation will temporarily increase cash costs by up to $0.20/lb. for the remainder of this year. Kamoa-Kakula is on a path to full hydroelectric power generation and anticipates lower cash costs after 2024, following the commissioning of the direct-to-blister smelter.

Ivanhoe Mines continued its excellent record of project execution in 2023, with capital expenditure of $1.52 billion at Kamoa-Kakula on the Phase 2 and 3 expansions, $234 million at Platreef and $226 million at Kipushi. Projects remain on or ahead of schedule and on budget, with any underspending in 2023 expected to be caught up in 2024.

Ivanhoe Mines executed a $150 million senior debt facility for Platreef Phase 1 mine with its mandated lead arrangers, Société Générale and Nedbank.

Kamoa-Kakula secured and drew down on unsecured financing facilities of $400 million from DRC financial institutions at an attractive cost of capital to augment cash generated from operations for its continued expansion and working capital.

OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

The Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex produced 393,551 tonnes of copper in concentrate in 2023, inside the 2023 production guidance range of 390,000 to 430,000 tonnes. Kamoa-Kakula's 2023 production achievement represents a year-over-year increase of 18%.

Production at Kamoa-Kakula for the fourth quarter of 2023 was 92,215 tonnes of copper in concentrate, compared to 103,947 tonnes in Q3 2023 and 92,761 tonnes in Q4 2022. Quarterly production was impacted by ongoing intermittent grid instability, most acutely in November, with disruptions ongoing in 2024 year-to-date. The phased roll-out of over 200MW of on-site, backup generation capacity, as well as concurrent grid infrastructure improvements are advancing well.

During 2023, Kamoa-Kakula Phase 1 and 2 concentrators milled a record of approximately 8.54 million tonnes of ore at an average feed grade of 5.23% copper, producing 824,382 dry metric tonnes of copper concentrate.

Kamoa-Kakula's Phase 3 concentrator is now 82% complete and ahead of schedule for first production in late Q2 2024. The Phase 3 smelter complex is now 76% complete and remains on schedule for commissioning in Q4 2024. The refurbishment of Turbine #5 of the Inga II hydropower dam is 60% complete and on schedule for commissioning in Q4 2024. Concentrate production from the early commissioning of Phase 3 will be partially stockpiled in anticipation of smelter commissioning.

With the anticipated early commissioning of Phase 3, full-year production guidance for Kamoa-Kakula was announced on January 8, 2024, at440,000 to 490,000 tonnes of copper in concentrate.

Ivanhoe announces "Project 95" at Kamoa-Kakula - an initiative targeting an increase of copper recoveries to 95% by liberating copper from the tailings stream at the concentrator, as well as re-treatment of tailings deposited to date. Basic engineering for Project 95 is underway and is expected to be complete in early Q2 2024.

Kamoa-Kakula commenced trial exports of concentrate along the Lobito Atlantic Railway Corridor in late 2023. More recently, Kamoa-Kakula has signed a term sheetoutlining the key terms for a Reserved Capacity Agreement for the transportation of up to 240,000 tonnes of copper products along the Lobito Corridor from 2025. As such, Kamoa-Kakula will be the first industrial customer of the Lobito Corridor in the modern era.

Industry peer data compiled by Skarn Associates ranks the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex comfortably within the bottom decile of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensities on a Scope 1, 2 and 3 (partial) basis. Following the completion of the Phase 3 expansion and the smelter, the emissions intensity of Kamoa-Kakula on a Scope 1, 2 and 3 basis is estimated to almost halve to 1.31 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per tonne (t CO2-e / t Cu) of copper produced.

In the Western Forelands, Ivanhoe announced on November 28, 2023, the geologically significant, high-grade Kitoko copper discovery on a new joint venture licence, as well as the maiden Mineral Resource estimates for the Makoko and Kiala high-grade copper discoveries, as announced on November 13, 2023.

Ivanhoe's exploration budget for 2024 has quadrupled to approximately $90 million, with exploration activities primarily focused on the 2,654-square-kilometre Western Forelands Exploration Project, including the expansion of the Kitoko discovery. Seven drill rigs are currently active, with two more arriving by quarter-end.

At Kipushi, construction of the 800,000 tonnes-per-annum concentrator is approximately 85% complete and ahead of schedule for commissioning in Q2 2024. Mining of the ultra-high-grade Big Zinc orebody has commenced ahead of schedule. Approximately, 220,000 tonnes of lower-grade ore from development is stockpiled on surface at an average grade of 22% zinc, including approximately 30,000 tonnes of "medium-grade" at 30% zinc.

Ivanhoe Mines and Gécamines signed a revised joint venture to restart the ultra-high-grade Kipushi mine. Terms are unchanged from when initially announced on February 14, 2022.

At Platreef, an updated independent feasibility study (FS) is planned for the second half of 2024 on an optimized development plan for Phase 2. The optimized development plan accelerates the development of Phase 2 at a total processing capacity of 4 million-tonnes-per-annum (Mtpa) by equipping Shaft #3 for hoisting.

Construction activities for the Platreef Phase 1 concentrator are on track for completion in Q3 2024. Hot commissioning and ramp-up of production are now planned to be deferred until early 2025. This decision was taken to prioritize the increased underground development, including critical-path Shaft #3 and Shaft #2 raise-boring, while hoisting capacity is constrained to Shaft #1 only.

An independent preliminary economic assessment (PEA) is planned concurrently with the FS on a significantly larger Phase 3 expansion, once the major 8 Mtpa Shaft #2 is available for hoisting. A Phase 3 expansion to 10 Mtpa processing capacity is expected to rank Platreef as one of the world's largest platinum-group metal, nickel, copper and gold producers.

Ivanplats has signed a Purchase of Concentrate Agreement with Sibanye-Stillwater for Phase 2 concentrate. The agreement is for 8 years from first production and is for an initial annual volume of 60,000 tonnes of concentrate, approximately one-third of anticipated Phase 2 volume.

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Construction of the Phase 3 concentrator plant remains on budget and is approx. 82% complete and ahead of schedule for first production as early as June 2024. Once complete the production capacity of the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex will increase to over 600,000 tonnes of copper per annum.

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Conference call for investors on Monday, February 26

Ivanhoe Mines will hold an investor conference call to discuss its fourth quarter and full year 2023 financial results at 3:30 p.m. London time / 10:30 a.m. Eastern time / 7:30 a.m. Pacific time on Monday, February 26. 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://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/w8oyz543

Analysts are invited to join by phone for the Q&A using the following link: https://register.vevent.com/register/BI1f49e4c5613b4c77916b60d88ac612f9

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 consolidated financial statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis will be available at www.ivanhoemines.comand under the company’s SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca: Follow Robert Friedland (@robert_ivanhoe) and Ivanhoe Mines (@IvanhoeMines_) on X.

SUSTAINABILITY, HEALTH & SAFETY

For 2023, the group achieved an industry-leading combined Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) of 0.23 per 1,000,000 hours worked and a Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate (TRIFR) of 0.94 per 1,000,000 hours worked. For 2022, the LTIFR was 0.38 and the TRIFR 1.72. Regrettably, there were two fatalities in the group during the year, both occurred at Kamoa-Kakula.

For a detailed breakdown of the health and safety performance achieved by each project, as well as more information on the various sustainability initiatives underway across the group, read Ivanhoe's Q4 2023 Sustainability Update: https://www.ivanhoemines.com/investors/document-library/#sustainability.

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Aerial view of Kamoa-Kakula's Phase 1 and Phase 2 concentrators in the foreground, with the construction site of the 500,000-tonnes-per-annum direct-to-blister copper smelter in the background, right of picture. The state-of-the-art smelter will be the largest copper smelter on the African continent.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/199178_c15bc70a440b3968_005full.jpg

Principal projects and review of activities

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

Kamoa-Kakula summary of operating and financial data

| | | | FY 2023 | | | Q4 2023 | | | Q3 2023 | | | Q2 2023 | | | Q1 2023 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Ore tonnes milled (000's tonnes) | | | 8,543 | | | 2,133 | | | 2,236 | | | 2,244 | | | 1,930 | | | Copper ore grade processed (%) | | | 5.23% | | | 4.95% | | | 5.37% | | | 5.21% | | | 5.42% | | | Copper recovery (%) | | | 87.3% | | | 87.9% | | | 87.2% | | | 87.2% | | | 87.1% | | | Copper in concentrate produced (tonnes) | | | 393,551 | | | 92,215 | | | 103,947 | | | 103,786 | | | 93,603 | | | Payable copper sold (tonnes) | | | 375,779 | | | 90,967 | | | 96,509 | | | 101,526 | | | 86,777 | | | Cost of sales per pound ($ per lb.) | | | 1.33 | | | 1.50 | | | 1.34 | | | 1.24 | | | 1.25 | | | Cash cost (C1) ($ per lb.) | | | 1.45 | | | 1.53 | | | 1.46 | | | 1.41 | | | 1.42 | | | Realized copper price ($ per lb.) | | | 3.84 | | | 3.71 | | | 3.84 | | | 3.79 | | | 4.04 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Sales revenue before remeasurement ($'000) | | | 2,697,257 | | | 625,983 | | | 681,821 | | | 729,924 | | | 659,529 | | | Remeasurement of contract receivables ($'000) | | | 6,701 | | | (8,365 | ) | | 13,014 | | | (27,542 | ) | | 29,594 | | | Sales revenue after remeasurement ($'000) | | | 2,703,958 | | | 617,618 | | | 694,835 | | | 702,382 | | | 689,123 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | EBITDA ($'000) | | | 1,681,049 | | | 343,899 | | | 423,211 | | | 456,628 | | | 457,311 | | | EBITDA margin (% of sales revenue) | | | 62% | | | 56% | | | 61% | | | 65% | | | 66% | |

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 news release includes "EBITDA", "Adjusted EBITDA", "EBITDA margin", normalized profit 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, please refer to the non-GAAP Financial Performance Measures section of the company's MD&A for the financial year ended December 31, 2023.