Mr. Robert Friedland reports

IVANHOE MINES ANNOUNCES COMPLETION OF THREE MAJOR PROJECT MILESTONES AT THE PLATREEF PLATINUM-PALLADIUM-NICKEL-RHODIUM-GOLD-COPPER MINE

A project ceremony has been held at Ivanhoe Mines Ltd.'s Platreef mine in Limpopo province, South Africa, marking the achievement of three major development milestones.

The milestones include the completion of construction of the four-million-tonne-per-annum shaft No. 3, the breaking of ground for the phase 2 concentrator site and the commencement of widening of shaft No. 2. The project milestones are a major advancement for the phase 2 expansion and the future phase 3 expansion.

The on-site ceremony was attended by Ivanhoe Mines president and chief executive officer Marna Cloete, senior management from Ivanhoe Mines and Ivanplats, as well as representatives from Ivanplats's shareholders Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (Jogmec), Itochu Corp., and the broad-based black equity empowerment (B-BBEE) group.

Ivanhoe Mines founder and co-chairman Robert Friedland commented: "The Platreef mine is not a typical South African precious metals mine scratching at narrow, one-metre-thick seams. The Platreef mine is a once-in-a-generation geological wonder -- a discovery so vast that it will be producing precious metals for generations to come. The flat-lying orebody is approximately 25 times thicker than our industry incumbents, averaging 26 metres of continuous mineralization. Thickness means scale, which means mechanization, and mechanization means lower costs and safer operations.

"Years ago, our Japanese partners had the foresight to recognize this potential. The consortium, led by Itochu Corp., made a bold, decisive investment, without which we would not be where we are today. We thank you for your continued support.

"We are ramping up the mine at a time when metal prices are rising. Scarcity is real and the demand is relentless. Platinum, palladium, rhodium, copper and nickel are identified by countries all around the globe as critical minerals and therefore strategic to agenda of many of the world's developed and developing economies."

Shaft No. 3 to expand hoisting capacity at the Platreef Mine fivefold, unlocking phase 1 operations while supporting underground development for phase 2 expansion from Q4 2027

The completion of shaft No. 3, along with its associated underground materials handling and crushing infrastructure, increases the total available hoisting capacity fivefold to approximately five million tonnes per annum. The new shaft will enable greater flexibility in hoisting both ore and waste rock to the surface, which is severely constrained through shaft No. 1 alone.

Construction was completed on schedule in late March and is undergoing the final stages of commissioning. Once fully ramped up, shaft No. 3 will significantly increase the rate of underground mining and underground development.

Since first production in Q4 2025, the phase 1 concentrator has batch processed (campaigned) lower-grade development ore as underground development progressed. Long-hole stoping of the Flatreef orebody is expected to soon commence, enabling the phase 1 concentrator to ramp up to commercial production from midyear.

Underground development will also significantly ramp up in preparation for the start-up of the phase 2 concentrator, which is expected to be operational by the end of next year. Underground development will focus on opening additional mining areas to increase the mining rate to feed the new 3.3-million-tonne-per-annum phase 2 concentrator.

Breaking of ground took place at phase 2 concentrator construction site; phase 2 is expected to increase production to over 450,000 ounces of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold from Q4 2027

The Ivanplats project team broke ground on the phase 2 concentrator site on April 9, 2026. DRA Global is the engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contractor for the phase 2 underground infrastructure and the 3.3-million-tonne-per-annum phase 2 concentrator. DRA Global was the EPCM contractor that delivered Platreef's phase 1 concentrator on schedule in June, 2024. The phase 2 concentrator is targeted for completion by the end of next year.

Concurrently with the major earthworks now under way at the phase 2 concentrator site, engineering work is focused on completing the process and mechanical design and equipment layouts. The procurement of long-lead mechanical and electrical equipment has already commenced.

Widening of shaft No. 2 commenced; once operational, the shaft is set to become the largest hoisting shaft in Africa

Following the completion of the shaft No. 2 concrete headgear in Q4 2025, construction activities have now focused on widening the shaft to its final diameter. The shaft was initially raise bored to a diameter of 3.1 metres in Q4 2024. The contract to widen the shaft, to a final diameter of 10 metres, was awarded to United Mining Services (UMS) of Johannesburg, South Africa. Site mobilization by UMS was completed during the first quarter, with the first slipe blast completed on schedule on April 1, 2026. The method used to widen shaft No. 2, is called slipe and line, which involves blasting rock in small slipes (vertical benches) around the shaft perimeter and installing a lining to support and secure the shaft walls as the excavation progresses.

Shaft No. 2 is expected to be ready to hoist labour and materials by the end of 2028 and be ready to hoist ore by the end of 2029. Shaft No. 2 will support both the steady-state operations of phase 2 and the future phase 3 expansion.

The Platreef mine is set to be one of the largest and lowest-cost producers of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold, with nickel and copper byproducts.

On Feb. 18, 2025, two independent studies were completed on the three-phase development of the Platreef mine. This included an updated feasibility study on the phase 2 expansion to 4.1 million tonnes per annum of processing capacity as well as a preliminary economic assessment covering a new phase 3 expansion to 10.7 million tonnes per annum of processing capacity. The excellent results from both studies reinforce the multigenerational Platreef mine's industry-leading margins.

The Platreef mine is projected to be the lowest-cost primary platinum group metals producer globally. The phase 2 life-of-mine total cash cost is estimated to be $599 per ounce of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold (3PE+Au), net of nickel and copper byproduct credits. Life-of-mine total cash costs are projected to fall further to $511 per ounce of 3PE+Au following the phase 3 expansion. This compares very favourably with a basket spot price of approximately $2,000 per ounce of 3PE+Au, as at April 22, 2026. The Platreef Mine's low cash costs are primarily due to its unique thick orebody, which enables economies of scale, as well as the high grades of nickel and copper that are payable byproducts.

The phase 2 expansion is expected to increase annualized production almost fivefold to over 460,000 ounces of 3PE+Au, plus approximately 9,000 tonnes of nickel and 6,000 tonnes of copper. The phase 3 expansion further doubles annualized production to over one million ounces of 3PE+Au, plus approximately 22,000 tonnes of nickel and 13,000 tonnes of copper. The phase 3 expansion is expected to rank the Platreef mine as one of the world's largest primary platinum group metal producers on a platinum-equivalent basis.

Japanese consortium commits to finance its proportionate share of the phase 2 expansion

ITC Platinum has committed to finance its proportionate share of the phase 2 expansion. ITC Platinum, a Japanese consortium including Jogmec and Itochu, previously acquired a collective 10-per-cent interest in the Platreef mine in two tranches. The first 2-per-cent interest was acquired in September, 2010, for $10-million and the second 8-per-cent interest was acquired in June, 2011, for $280-million. Ivanhoe Mines owns a 64-per-cent interest in the Platreef mine and the B-BBEE group owns the remaining 26 per cent.

About Ivanhoe Mines Ltd.

Ivanhoe Mines is a Canadian mining company focused on advancing its three principal operations in southern Africa: the Kamoa-Kakula copper complex in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC); the ultrahigh-grade Kipushi zinc-copper-germanium-silver mine, also in the DRC; and the Tier 1 Platreef platinum-palladium-nickel-rhodium-gold-copper mine in South Africa.

Ivanhoe Mines is exploring for copper in its highly prospective, 54-to-100-per-cent-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.

Disclosure of technical information

Disclosures of a scientific or technical nature in this press release have been reviewed and approved by Simon Bottoms, who is considered, by virtue of his education, experience and professional association, a qualified person under the terms of National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Bottoms is not considered independent under NI 43-101 as he is Ivanhoe Mines' executive vice-president, technical services. Mr. Bottoms has verified the technical data disclosed in this press release.

Ivanhoe has prepared an independent, NI 43-101-compliant technical report for the Platreef mine, which is available on the company's website and under the company's SEDAR+ profile:

• The Platreef Integrated Development Plan 2025, filed on March 31, 2025, prepared by OreWin Pty. Ltd., Mine Technical Services, SRK Consulting Inc., DRA Projects Pty. Ltd. and Golder Associates Africa.

This technical report includes relevant information regarding the effective dates and the assumptions, parameters and methods of the mineral resource estimates on the Platreef mine, cited in this press release, as well as information regarding data verification, exploration procedures, and other matters relevant to the scientific and technical disclosure contained in this press release in respect of the Platreef mine.

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