Dear Shareholders,

We hope this letter finds you well. In the spirit of reflection and anticipation, it is our pleasure to share with you the formidable strides Ivanhoe Mines has made in 2023. This past year has been about achieving remarkable growth and strategic milestones, empowering our host citizens and communities, and spearheading innovation in the mining industry. We are set to become a leading global producer of the metals the world vitally requires for advanced industrialization and a sustainable transition to clean energy and decarbonization, including copper, nickel, zinc, and platinum-group metals.

Our achievements this year reflect the sheer scale of our ambition, operational agility, and innovative mindset. Looking ahead, we're setting our sights on a future defined by substantial growth, sustainable methodologies, ultra-safe and environmentally friendly operations, and enduring prosperity for all our stakeholders. Our strategic endeavours and exploration efforts are meticulously planned to broaden our operational reach and fortify our pledge to deliver substantial value to our shareholders, community members, and the regions where we operate. The strength of our partnerships globally—including ties with CITIC Metal, Zijin Mining, our valued shareholders, and the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo and communities—has been pivotal in our trailblazing success.

This past year, Ivanhoe Mines rocketed to new heights, driven by our tenacity, innovation, and steadfast dedication to excellence in our operations. We celebrated a historic year with record normalized profit of $388 million and adjusted EBITDA of $604 million. Our flagship project, the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was a standout performer, generating record annual revenue of $2.70 billion and record EBITDA of $1.68 billion. With milled volumes reaching a record 8.54 million tonnes of ore at an average grade of 5.23% copper, Kamoa-Kakula produced 393,551 tonnes of copper in concentrate, which aligns with our production guidance despite some challenges experienced with the instability of the national electrical grid, which our team has quickly and decisively addressed. These accomplishments underscore our commitment to operational efficiency and excellence, with Kamoa-Kakula outperforming expectations on key metrics, including mill throughput, recoveries, and project execution.

Among our innovative milestones, the launch of “Project 95” at Kamoa-Kakula promises to revolutionize our operations by targeting an increase in copper recoveries from 87.4% to 95%. With basic engineering already underway, this initiative underscores our commitment to continual improvement and efficient mining practices.

Furthermore, the commencement of trial exports of copper concentrate along the Lobito Atlantic Railway Corridor marks a significant logistical milestone. The Reserved Capacity Agreement for the transportation of up to 240,000 tonnes of copper products from 2025 highlights Kamoa-Kakula’s pioneering role in utilizing the Lobito Corridor and is another calculated step in unlocking the true potential of this emerging copper district.

In December 2023, we completed a strategic private placement with leading American institutional shareholders, raising aggregate proceeds of C$575 million. This accomplishment underscores the market's confidence in our vision and the long-term value proposition of our mining projects and unparalleled exploration potential.

Kamoa-Kakula stands at the forefront of the mining industry through its unwavering commitment to environmental sustainability and active community involvement. Our guiding principle, "mining with a greater purpose," not only shapes our corporate ethos but also cements our dedication to sustainable practices and social responsibility. This commitment deeply influences our long-term strategic vision, ensuring that our operations and exploratory efforts contribute positively to the regions we serve.

Notably, Kamoa-Kakula stands out for having the lowest rate of carbon emissions per tonne of produced copper when benchmarked against other significant global operations. Even more impressive, these emissions are slated to significantly decrease by an additional 46% following the completion of Kamoa-Kakula’s onsite Phase 3 smelter, which is anticipated by the end of 2024. This environmental stride pairs seamlessly with the renewable energy project involving the refurbishment of Inga II’s hydroelectric dam turbine #5. This initiative is set to bolster the Democratic Republic of Congo's electricity network, contributing 260 megawatts of clean hydroelectric power by the first quarter of 2025 and providing green energy to power Kamoa-Kakula’s Phase 3 expansion and beyond.

Our achievements in exploration have been equally impressive, with the highly significant Kitoko copper discovery and the maiden Mineral Resource estimates for the Makoko and Kiala copper deposits marking significant strides in our exploration efforts across the 2,654-km2 Western Foreland licenses adjacent to Kamoa-Kakula. With an exploration budget increase fourscore year-on-year to approximately $90 million for 2024, our focus remains on expanding and maximizing these significant discoveries, as well as furthering our search for the world’s next tier-one copper deposits.

Our outlook for 2024 and beyond is very bright. Kamoa-Kakula’s Phase 3 concentrator project is 94% complete, on budget and ahead of schedule, with first ore now expected in May 2024—two full quarters ahead of initial public forecasts—which is anticipated to boost annualized copper production to approximately 600,000 tonnes. This milestone will make Kamoa-Kakula one of the world’s largest copper operations, just four years after declaring first production. 

At the historic Kipushi zinc-copper-germanium-silver mine, the construction of the 800,000 tonne-per-annum zinc concentrator is also ahead of schedule, with commissioning now expected in the June 2024. Kipushi will be the world’s highest-grade major zinc mine and among the lowest Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emitters per tonne of zinc metal produced.

The second half of 2024 will see the completion of an updated independent feasibility study on an optimized development plan for the Platreef palladium-nickel-platinum-rhodium-copper-gold mine in South Africa, focusing on accelerating development and expanding processing capacity. These initiatives are aimed at cementing Platreef's position as one of the world’s largest and lowest-cost producers of platinum-group metals, nickel, copper, and gold, and a future leader in the South African mining industry.

None of these accomplishments would have been possible without your unwavering support and confidence in Ivanhoe Mines. We are deeply grateful for your partnership as we continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in the mining sector.

As we look to the future, we remain committed to sustainable growth, operational excellence, and delivering value to our shareholders. We are excited about the opportunities ahead and confident in our teams’ ability to achieve our ambitious goals.