Mr. Robert Friedland reports

IVANHOE ELECTRIC ANNOUNCES COMPLETION OF EARN-IN TO ACQUIRE A 60% INTEREST IN THE SAMAPLEU-GRATA NICKEL-COPPER PROJECT IN THE IVORY COAST

Ivanhoe Electric Inc. has completed its earn-in to acquire a 60-per-cent interest in the Samapleu-Grata nickel-copper project in Ivory Coast. On March 21, 2024, Ivanhoe Electric's joint venture partner at the project, Sama Resources Inc., disclosed a new 2024 preliminary economic assessment for the project (2024 PEA) in accordance with National Instrument 43-101.

The Samapleu-Grata nickel-copper project is now a 60-per-cent/40-per-cent joint venture between Ivanhoe Electric and Sama. In addition to a 60-per-cent interest at the project level, Ivanhoe Electric also owns 22.7 per cent of the common shares of Sama.

Taylor Melvin, president and chief executive officer of Ivanhoe Electric, commented: "We are pleased to have completed our earn-in to 60 per cent of the Samapleu-Grata nickel-copper project. We are particularly encouraged by the significant improvement in both the quality and quantity of potential future copper concentrate production at the project compared to earlier studies. The results announced by our joint venture partner, Sama, are a product of the hard work by our dedicated joint team. We look forward to working together with Sama on the next steps for our high-quality nickel-copper project."

The Samapleu-Grata nickel-copper project

The Samapleu-Grata nickel-copper project is located in western Ivory Coast, approximately 600 kilometres from the capital Abidjan. The total area of the project is approximately 835 square kilometres.

Ivanhoe Electric entered into a binding term sheet for an earn-in and joint venture agreement with Sama, which was subsequently formalized in March, 2021. Ivanhoe Electric satisfied the terms of its 60-per-cent earn-in by spending $25-million by March, 2024.

Highlights of the 2024 preliminary economic assessment announced by Sama Resources

The 2024 PEA outlines the potential for a conventional open-pit mining operation supporting 86.5 million tonnes of modelled mill feed, together with 1.62 million tonnes of direct shipped laterite material, entirely from the Grata, Main and Extension deposits and the Sipilou Sud laterite deposit.

Over the life of mine, the Samapleu-Grata nickel-copper project would produce an annual average of 38,627 tonnes of a 26 per cent copper concentrate and 55,119 tonnes of a 13 per cent nickel concentrate through a process plant with a capacity of 5,475,000 tonnes per year. This would be achieved through a conventional process that focuses entirely on flotation, for the production of separate copper and nickel concentrates together with cobalt, platinum, palladium and gold as byproducts.

Highlights from the 2024 PEA announced by Sama Resources include:

• Average annual production of approximately 38,627 tonnes of 26 per cent copper concentrate and 55,119 tonnes of 13 per cent nickel concentrate;
• Average annual nickel metal in concentrate of approximately 7,165 tonnes per year and copper metal in concentrate of approximately 10,043 tonnes per year;
• 16-year life of mine;
• Pretax net present value (NPV) at an 8-per-cent discount rate of $463-million (U.S.) and internal rate of return (IRR) of 28.2 per cent;
• After-tax NPV8 of $257-million (U.S.) and after-tax IRR of 22.3 per cent;
• Initial capital costs of $338-million (U.S.), including a contingency of $61-million (U.S.);
• After-tax payback period of 3.8 years.

The 2024 PEA is based on a long-term nickel price of $8.83 (U.S.) per pound and a long-term copper price of $3.99 (U.S.) per pound.

The 2024 PEA is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources, which are considered too speculative in nature to be categorized as mineral reserves. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves have not demonstrated economic viability. Additional trenching and/or drilling will be required to convert inferred mineral resources to indicated or measured mineral resources. There is no certainty that the results of the 2024 PEA will be realized.

The 2024 PEA includes only the Grata, Main and Extension deposits and the Sipilou Sud laterite deposit, which, together with the proposed mine infrastructure, covers only approximately 3 per cent of the 835-square-kilometre project area. This provides ample opportunities for exploration upside and expansion opportunities, including at known mineralized zones at Yepleu and Draba.

The Samapleu-Grata nickel-copper project is a potentially commercially profitable operating open-pit operation consisting of magmatic polymetallic sulphide mineralization with byproduct metals, including copper, gold, cobalt, platinum and palladium. The project has a comparatively small capital cost and favourable internal rate of return while producing competitive nickel and copper concentrates.

Based on the 2024 PEA, the Samapleu-Grata nickel-copper project has one of the lowest total capital costs while producing a pretax IRR that is second only to the Tamarack deposit in the United States, providing the opportunity to construct a relatively small but comparably profitable polymetallic mining operation.

Finally, the polymetallic nature of the Samapleu-Grata nickel copper project means that it has the potential to produce not only a nickel concentrate, but a high-quality 26 per cent copper concentrate that is on par with the copper concentrate produced from primary copper mines.

Qualified persons

Disclosures of a scientific or technical nature included in this news release, including the information regarding the 2024 PEA, have been reviewed, verified and approved by Mark Gibson, PGeo, and Glen Kuntz, PGeo. Each is a qualified person for the purpose of NI 43-101 and Regulation S-K, Subpart 1300, promulgated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Mr. Gibson is the chief geophysics officer for Ivanhoe Electric and Mr. Kuntz is the senior vice-president, mine development, for Ivanhoe Electric. Neither Mr. Gibson nor Mr. Kuntz is considered independent.

About Ivanhoe Electric Inc.

Ivanhoe Electric is a U.S. company that combines advanced mineral exploration technologies with electric metal exploration projects predominantly located in the United States. The company uses its accurate and powerful Typhoon geophysical surveying system, together with advanced data analytics provided by its subsidiary, Computational Geosciences Inc., to accelerate and derisk the mineral exploration process as the company seeks to discover new deposits of critical metals that may otherwise be undetectable by traditional exploration technologies. Ivanhoe Electric believes the United States is significantly underexplored and has the potential to yield major new discoveries of critical metals. The company's mineral exploration efforts focus on copper as well as other metals, including nickel, vanadium, cobalt, platinum group elements, gold and silver. Through the advancement of Ivanhoe Electric's portfolio of electric metals exploration projects, headlined by the Santa Cruz copper project in Arizona and the Tintic copper-gold project in Utah, as well as other exploration projects in the United States, Ivanhoe Electric intends to support U.S. supply chain independence by finding and delivering the critical metals necessary for the electrification of the economy. Ivanhoe Electric also operates a 50-per-cent/50-per-cent joint venture with Saudi Arabian mining company Ma'aden to explore for minerals on approximately 48,500 square kilometres of underexplored Arabian Shield in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

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