Ms. Marna Cloete reports

IVANHOE MINES: UNITED STATES ANNOUNCES SUPPORT FOR DEVELOPMENT OF LOBITO ATLANTIC RAILWAY CORRIDOR AT THE 2023 G7 SUMMIT

Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. has noted that the United States government made a press statement during the 2023 G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, stating that the United States International Development Finance Corp. (DFC) is currently performing due diligence for a potential $250-million investment to finance the open-access Lobito Atlantic Railway Corridor (Lobito Corridor) from the port of Lobito in Angola to the Angolan-DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo) border.

All figures are in United States dollars unless otherwise stated.

The "transformative economic corridor" connects the Angolan port of Lobito to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) copper belt. Once fully operational, the Lobito Corridor could significantly improve the logistics costs and carbon footprint of exporting metals from the Kamoa-Kakula copper complex, the Kipushi zinc-copper-germanium-silver mine, as well as the future development of any copper discoveries within the Western Foreland exploration project.

The announcement follows the recent award of a 30-year concession on the Angolan side of the Lobito Corridor, with the potential of a 20-year extension, to a consortium including Trafigura Pte. Ltd., of Geneva, Switzerland, and Mota-Engil of Porto, Portugal. The consortium will be responsible for the operation, management and maintenance of the rail infrastructure and rolling stock from the Lobito port to the Angolan-DRC border. The agreement announced in the fourth quarter of 2022 involves a total investment of $450-million, including $166-million in infrastructure upgrades and $70-million in rolling stock. Further, on Jan. 27, 2023, the governments of Angola, DRC and Zambia signed the Lobito Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency Agreement (LCTTFA). The tri-partite LCTTFA aims to co-ordinate the joint development activities of the Lobito Corridor. The Lobito Corridor provides an alternative, strategic route to export markets for both Zambia and the DRC, which today both rely heavily on road transportation for the export of metals.

Find the full U.S. government press statement on-line.

Robert Friedland, Ivanhoe Mines' executive co-chairman, commented:

"The Lobito Corridor will soon be one of the most important trade routes for vital copper metal and other critical minerals required for our planet's energy transition. The proposed investment by the U.S. government emphasizes that a co-ordinated global effort is required to upgrade critical infrastructure across sub-Saharan Africa to unlock the tremendous potential of this region and, in the process, generate unprecedented economic benefits for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its neighbours, Angola and Zambia.

"The open access to the deep-water port in Lobito by rail would not be possible without the vision and investment made by our shareholders CITIC and Zijin. CITIC was instrumental in upgrading the Lobito port and the rail line in 2014, while our joint venture partner Zijin is currently active in upgrading road and border infrastructure in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to enable access to the Lobito Corridor from the copper belt, as well as improve existing export corridors.

"If we are to address the daunting challenges of global climate change, it is imperative that we have international co-operation to develop responsible mineral supply chains, in partnership with the local people and communities where these mineral deposits are located."

About Ivanhoe Mines Ltd.

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 construction of the Tier 1 Platreef palladium-rhodium-platinum-nickel-copper-gold project in South Africa; and the restart of the historic ultrahigh-grade Kipushi zinc-copper-germanium-silver mine, also in the DRC.

Ivanhoe Mines also is exploring for new copper discoveries across its approximately 2,400 square kilometres of 90-to-100-per-cent-owned exploration licences in the Western Foreland, located adjacent to, or in close proximity to, the Kamoa-Kakula copper complex in the DRC.

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