Ivanhoe's Ivanplats Achieves Major Milestone: Flatreef Orebody Extraction Begins

[Ivanhoe’s Ivanplats Reaches Key Milestone, Begins Accessing Flatreef Orebody]

On May 8, Ivanhoe Mines announced a major advancement at its Flatreef Project in South Africa. More than 30 years after securing its first exploration licence and 15 years after unveiling the discovery of the 26-metre-thick Flatreef deposit, Ivanhoe’s subsidiary Ivanplats has officially commenced extraction activities.

On May 7, 2025, mining crews carried out the first blast of high-grade ore within the Flatreef orebody at the 850-metre level. Since the sinking of Shaft 1 began in 2015 and reached a depth of 996 metres in 2021, over 5.5 kilometres of underground development has been completed across the 750m, 850m, and 950m levels. Access to the orebody at the remaining two levels is expected in the coming weeks.

The Flatreef deposit hosts a mix of critical and precious metals, including platinum, palladium, rhodium, nickel, gold, and copper. Ore produced during early development will be stockpiled at surface in preparation for first feed into the Phase 1 concentrator, scheduled for Q4 2025.