Ivanhoe Mines to Resume Underground Mining at Kakula Mine’s Western Side on June 7, 2025

Underground water levels in Kakula Mine stabilized; dewatering to commence in Q3 2025

Kamoa-Kakula revises 2025 production guidance to between 370,000 and 420,000 tonnes of copper

Smelter start-up expected to commence in September 2025, with first anode anticipated in October 2025

Ivanhoe Mines to host a conference call for investors before market open on June 12, 2025

Kolwezi, Democratic Republic of the Congo – Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN) (OTCQX: IVPAF) today announced significant developments at its Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex, signaling a revised production outlook and progress toward its ambitious goals. The update, led by Executive Co-Chairman Robert Friedland and President Marna Cloete, follows preliminary geotechnical findings related to seismic activity at the Kakula Mine, first reported on May 20, 2025.

Mining operations on the western side of the Kakula Mine have resumed in a controlled manner, with equipment and crews returning underground on June 7, 2025. The short-term mine plan for this area has been adjusted based on preliminary findings from expert analysis.

Simultaneously, activities on the eastern side of the Kakula Mine are slated to commence shortly. The focus will be on establishing access drives to a new mining zone east of the existing workings, a project designed to be isolated from ongoing dewatering efforts on the same side of the mine.

Following the installation of additional underground pumping capacity, as announced on June 2, 2025, water levels within the Kakula Mine have stabilized. The frequency of seismic events has also decreased since the initial reports on May 18, 2025. Dewatering of the eastern side of the Kakula Mine is now expected to commence in August 2025 and conclude by the fourth quarter.

Short-term mine plans incorporate recommendations from preliminary geotechnical findings, meticulously crafted by a team of world-leading experts, ensuring a safe restart of underground operations. Concurrent with these efforts, the Kamoa-Kakula management team, in collaboration with technical consultants, is reviewing medium- and long-term mine plans.

The Phase 1 and 2 concentrators are currently operating at approximately 50% of their combined operating capacity, utilizing ore from surface stockpiles. The processing rate is slated to increase throughout the remainder of 2025, as mining on the western side of the Kakula Mine ramps up, supplemented by ore from stockpiles. Parallel to this, mining operations at the Kamoa underground mine and ore processing at the adjacent Phase 3 concentrator continue to exceed expectations.

With robust copper concentrate expected to be available, the on-site copper smelter is projected to commence operations in September, with the first anode expected in October 2025.

Executive Co-Chair Robert Friedland remarked on the progress, stating, “We are thankful and deeply appreciative of our team’s swift response in stabilizing underground water levels at the Kakula Mine. The team has quickly secured the critical equipment necessary to safely dewater the entire mine, while also preparing to access a new high-grade mining area in the east. While it’s still too early to outline our detailed plans for 2026 and 2027, the future remains bright across the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex and the adjacent Western Forelands Exploration Project. Kamoa-Kakula is, and will continue to be, a world-class Tier One operation, with decades ahead of us as one of the world’s leading copper producers.”

President & CEO Marna Cloete echoed the sentiment, adding, “We are working tirelessly to safely and systematically restore full operations at the Kakula Mine. Safety has always been, and will always remain, our highest priority. We want to extend our sincere thanks to the mining crews, the engineering teams and our long-term contractors for their extraordinary efforts in restoring pumping capacity and restarting operations, all without any lost time injuries. The resilience of our team and the strength of our operations reflect the extraordinary nature of this world-class copper district – and the future it holds for generations to come.”

Figure 1. Outline of the Kakula and Kakula West orebody, overlaid with the underground development since mining commenced in 2021. A significant portion of the original Kakula deposit remains unmined as of May 2025.

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Notes: Existing underground development as at May 2025. Illustration is based on the 2023 Kamoa-Kakula IDP showing the estimated average grade of each vertical stack of blocks above a 2% total copper cut-off. A minimum 3-metre thickness is applied.

Kakula Mine: Operations Update

Following the seismic events, Ivanhoe Mines’ Kakula Mine has seen water levels stabilize, currently managed at approximately 4,000 liters per second. With additional pumping capacity installed, underground water levels have been brought under control. The new pump stations feed into the existing central infrastructure, with water pumped to the surface at four locations near the bottom of the declines.

Mining on the western side of the Kakula Mine has recommenced. Mining crews and equipment, previously evacuated, are back underground, with the first blast since the incident occurring on June 7, 2025. The short-term mine plans have been modified in accordance with recommendations from the geotechnical assessment. Kamoa-Kakula’s mining teams are targeting an output of approximately 300,000 tonnes per month (3.6 million tonnes annually) from the western side of the Kakula Mine during the second half of 2025, dependent on underground conditions.

For the remainder of 2025, the Kakula underground mining teams are set to focus on ramping up mining activity on the western side of the mine, developing the new mining area on the eastern side, and increasing production from the Kamoa mining area.

Figure 2: Overview of Kakula Mine’s existing underground infrastructure, showing current pumping rates, future pumping capacity and depth of mine workings.

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Mining crews deployed to the Kamoa mining area, approximately 10 kilometers north of Kakula, will provide additional support. This will include aiding in underground development, as well as decline development from the construction of a new box cut planned at the Kansoko Mine. This new box cut will increase production from Kansoko, therefore contributing additional ore to the Phase 1 and Phase 2 concentrators.

Strategic Focus on New Mining Area in Eastern Kakula

The mining operation will shift its focus to the eastern side of the Kakula Mine. This new mine plan prioritizes the development of a new mining area beyond the existing workings. A barrier pillar will be established to protect the new area from potential instability associated with the existing workings.

Construction of two new access drives to the new mining area is scheduled to commence imminently. These drives are projected to be completed in the second quarter of 2026, and will advance east from the existing underground infrastructure. The new drives will be isolated from the dewatering activities. Following the completion of dewatering operations on the eastern side, a physical geotechnical inspection of the existing mine workings will be performed, finalizing the assessment of the geotechnical experts.

The Kamoa-Kakula engineering teams are implementing a two-stage plan to dewater the Kakula Mine. Stage One involved the installation of additional temporary underground pumping infrastructure, which was completed on June 2, 2025. Stage Two calls for the installation of high-capacity submersible pumps and new permanent infrastructure to fully dewater the Kakula Mine from the surface. Dewatering activities are expected to commence in August 2025 and be completed by the fourth quarter.

Looking south: The two existing shaft locations where the “Stage Two” dewatering surface pumping infrastructure will be installed to dewater the eastern side of the Kakula Mine. Water will be discharged into existing surface water channels (right of picture).

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Looking north with the Phase 1 and 2 concentrators in the background: One of the two shaft locations shown in the foreground that will be used for the “Stage Two” dewatering of the deepest area of the Kakula Mine.

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A high-capacity submersible pump, similar to those being procured by Kamoa Copper for dewatering the Kakula Mine, prior to being lowered down a shaft at the Luansha Copper Mine, Zambia in September 2024. Photo source: CNMC (China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group Co., Ltd).

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Geotechnical Assessment

Two prominent independent geotechnical engineering firms, Beck Engineering of Australia and Open House Management Solutions of South Africa, were engaged to assess the seismic activity that was first detected on May 18, 2025. Preliminary findings indicate that it originated from an area of the eastern Kakula Mine with a significant amount of ore extraction. The current assessment suggests that previously planned secondary extraction of ore blocks initiated a cascading process, which resulted in stress redistribution onto regional pillars.

The preliminary findings recommend modifying the short-term mine plans to increase pillar widths for additional structural support. The findings also advise changes to the mining sequence to improve stress distribution and overall stability. Furthermore, enhanced geotechnical monitoring will be installed throughout the mine.

Kamoa-Kakula’s management, in conjunction with consultants, are evaluating potential adjustments to the short-, medium- and long-term mine plans based on these preliminary findings.

Members of Kamoa-Kakula’s mining crew, (L-R) Kalume Malidja, Mining Foreman and Morné Du Plooy, Mining Superintendent

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Operational Performance and Outlook

Mining operations on the western side of the Kakula Mine recommenced on June 7, 2025, with careful, managed ramping up. Phase 1 and 2 concentrators are expected to operate at over 80% of their combined capacity, processing ore from the western side of Kakula. The head grade of the ore from this area is expected to range from 3% to 4% copper for the rest of the year.

The Phase 1 and 2 concentrators are working at roughly 50% capacity, utilizing ore from stockpiles since underground operations were temporarily halted on May 18, 2025.

The Phase 3 concentrator, situated by the Kamoa mines area, continues to demonstrate robust performance, operating at approximately 6.5 million tonnes annually, which is 30% higher than its design capacity. Year-to-date, the average feed grade processed by the Phase 3 unit has been 2.84% copper. Combined mining activity at the Kamoa and Kansoko mines has increased to a rate exceeding 6.8 million tonnes per annum.

Figure 3. Overview of the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex

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Revised 2025 Production Guidance

Kamoa-Kakula has updated its 2025 production guidance, taking into consideration factors such as the recent seismic activity and interruptions in operations at the Kakula Mine.

All figures are on a 100%-project basis and metal reported in concentrate is before refining losses or payability deductions associated with smelter terms.

Figure 4. Waterfall breakdown of original to revised 2025 production guidance, approximated by category (‘000’s tonnes of copper) with percentage change shown in boxes

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The planned 2026 target of approximately 600,000 tonnes of copper production has been withdrawn, pending further evaluation. A timely update on the 2026 target will be provided as more data becomes available. Updated 2025 C1 cash cost per pound of payable copper will be released in the second quarter of the 2025 financial results.

Smelter Start-up

The on-site direct-to-blister copper smelter is scheduled to begin operations in early September 2025, with the initial anode production anticipated in October. The smelter has a minimum operating capacity of 50%, equating to approximately 250,000 tonnes of copper annually.

As of May 31, 2025, Kamoa-Kakula held 33,000 tonnes of unsold concentrate. In preparation for the initial feed of concentrate, the amount of total concentrate stockpiles is expected to reach roughly 35,000 tonnes. Furthermore, senior Kamoa-Kakula management expects the commissioning of the 178-megawatt Turbine #5 at the Inga II hydroelectric dam in October 2025, potentially increasing hydroelectric power supplied to the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex.

Investor Conference Call

Ivanhoe Mines will host a conference call for investors on June 12, 2025, before market open at 8:00 a.m. Eastern time / 5:00 a.m. Pacific time. The call will include a Q&A session. Media are welcome to attend in a listen-only capacity.

To join the webcast, use the following link: https://meetings.400.lumiconnect.com/r/participant/live-meeting/400-534-841-259

Audience Phone Number:
(+1) 647 951 0841 (Toll, for international callers)
(+1) 888 985 7261 (Toll-Free North America)

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

Disclosure of Technical Information

Disclosures of a scientific or technical nature in this news release, other than the preliminary geotechnical findings and the technical information in Figure 1, have been reviewed and approved by Steve Amos, who is considered, by virtue of his education, experience, and professional association, a Qualified Person under the terms of NI 43-101. Mr. Amos is not considered independent under NI 43-101 as he is Ivanhoe Mines’ Executive Vice President, Projects. Mr. Amos has verified the technical data disclosed in this news release.

Disclosures of a scientific or technical nature regarding the preliminary geotechnical findings in this news release have been reviewed and approved by Koos Bosman, who is considered, by virtue of his education, experience, and professional association, a Qualified Person under the terms of NI 43-101. Mr. Bosman is considered independent of the company for purposes of NI 43-101 as he is Managing Director of Open House. Mr. Bosman has verified the technical data regarding the preliminary geotechnical findings disclosed in this news release.

Disclosures of a scientific or technical nature in Figure 1 of this news release have been reviewed and approved by Joshua Chitambala, who is considered, by virtue of his education, experience, and professional association, a Qualified Person under the terms of NI 43-101. Mr. Chitambala is not considered independent under NI 43-101 as he is the Resource Manager for Ivanhoe Mines. Mr. Chitambala has verified the other technical data regarding the surface stockpiles disclosed in this news release.

About Ivanhoe Mines

Ivanhoe Mines is a Canadian mining company focused on advancing its three principal projects in Southern Africa; the expansion of the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the DRC, the ramp-up of the ultra-high-grade Kipushi zinc-copper-germanium-silver mine, also in the DRC; and the phased development of the tier-one Platreef platinum-palladium-nickel-rhodium-gold-copper Mine in South Africa.

Ivanhoe Mines is exploring for copper in its highly prospective, 54%-100% owned exploration licences in the Western Forelands, covering an area over six times larger than the adjacent Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex, including the high-grade discoveries in the Makoko District. Ivanhoe is also exploring for new sedimentary copper discoveries in new horizons including Angola, Kazakhstan, and Zambia.

Follow Robert Friedland (@robert_ivanhoe) and Ivanhoe Mines (@IvanhoeMines_) on X.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this news release constitute “forward-looking statements” or “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the company, its projects, or industry results to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Such statements can be identified using words such as “may”, “would”, “could”, “will”, “intend”, “expect”, “believe”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “estimate”, “scheduled”, “forecast”, “predict” and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events, or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved. These statements reflect the company’s current expectations regarding future events, performance, and results and speak only as of the date of this news release.

Such statements include, without limitation: (i) statements that development from existing underground infrastructure toward a new mining area in the eastern side of the Kakula is expected to commence imminently, and that this development will be isolated from the dewatering activities; (ii) statements that dewatering of the eastern side of the Kakula Mine is expected to commence by the end of August 2025 and be complete during the fourth quarter; (iii) statements that the processing rate of the concentrators will ramp up throughout the remainder of 2025, as mining on the western side of the Kakula Mine increases, supplemented by feed from ore stockpiles; (iv) statements that, with necessary copper concentrate expected to be available, the on-site copper smelter is expected to start up in the third quarter, with first anode expected in October; (v) statements that Kamoa-Kakula’s mining crews aim to ramp up mining from the western side of the Kakula Mine to approximately 300,000 tonnes per month (3.6 million tonnes per year on an annualized basis) during the second half of 2025, subject to underground conditions; (vi) statements that for the remainder of 2025, Kakula’s underground mining crews will focus on the following three activities: ramping up mining on the western side of the Kakula Mine, developing a new mining area on the eastern side of the Kakula Mine and ramping up production from the Kamoa mining area; (vii) statements that the new box cut at Kansoko will enable increased production from Kansoko, providing an additional source of ore for the Phase 1 and Phase 2 concentrators; (viii) statements that development of a new mining area on eastern side of the Kakula Mine will commence imminently; (ix) statements that development of the new mining area is expected to be conducted in a mix of ore and waste and be completed in the second quarter of 2026; (x) statements that following the completion of dewatering activities on the eastern side of Kakula, a physical geotechnical inspection of the mine’s existing workings will be conducted, concluding the full assessment by the geotechnical experts; (xi) statements regarding additional pumps being ordered as part of the long-term pumping infrastructure plan and such pumps being deployed in pairs; (xii) statements that delivery, installation, and commissioning of the surface dewatering infrastructure is expected by mid-September; (xiii) statements regarding the impact of the preliminary assessment on the mine plan at Kakula, Kamoa and Kansoko; (xiii) production guidance for Kamoa Kakula for 2025; (xiv) statements that ore from the western side of Kakula is expected to deliver a head grade ranging between 3.0% and 4.0% copper; (xv) statements that the smelter’s minimum operating capacity is 50%, or approximately 250,000 tonnes of copper on an annualized basis; (xvi) statements that Kamoa-Kakula’s senior management anticipates the commissioning of the 178-megawatt Turbine #5 at the Inga II hydroelectric dam in September, further boosting domestically generated hydroelectricity to the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex; and (xv) statements regarding the locations where the “Stage Two” dewatering surface pumping infrastructure will be installed to dewater the eastern side of the Kakula Mine and that water will be discharged into existing surface water channels.

Forward-looking statements and information involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indicators of whether such results will be achieved. Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements or information, including, but not limited to: (i) uncertainty around the rate of water ingress into underground workings; (ii) the ability, and speed with which, additional equipment can be secured; (iii) the continuation of seismic activity; (iv) the state of underground infrastructure; (v) uncertainty around when future underground access can be secured; (vi) the fact that future mine stability cannot be guaranteed; (vii) the fact that future mining methods, may differ the impact on Kakula operations; and (viii) the ultimate conclusion of the assessment of the cause of the seismic activity at Kakula and the impact of same on the mining plan at the Kamoa Kakula Copper Complex. Additional factors also include those discussed above and under the “Risk Factors” section in the company’s MD&A for the three months ended March 31, 2025, and its current annual information form, and elsewhere in this news release, as well as unexpected changes in laws, rules or regulations, or their enforcement by applicable authorities; changes in the rate of water ingress into underground workings; the continuation of seismic activity; the state of underground infrastructure; delays in securing underground access; changes to the mining methods required in the future; the failure of parties to contracts with the company to perform as agreed; social or labour unrest; changes in commodity prices; and the failure of exploration programs or studies to deliver anticipated results or results that would justify and support continued exploration, studies, development or operations.

Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the company believes are reasonable assumptions, the company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Subject to applicable securities laws, the company does not assume any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this news release.

The company’s actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of the factors outlined in the “Risk Factors” section in the company’s MD&A for the three months ended March 31, 2025, and its current annual information form.

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