China Nonferrous Metal Mining: Rehabilitation of the Auxiliary Shaft at the Southeast Ore Body of Chambishi Completed, Main Shaft Under Repair; Copper Production Guidance for This Year Revised Downward Due to Production Suspension

China Nonferrous Mining Corporation Limited recently issued an announcement regarding the repair status of the main and auxiliary shafts at the Southeast Ore Body of the Chambishi Mine and the adjustment to its 2025 production guidance. The announcement shows:

Repair Status of the Main and Auxiliary Shafts at the Southeast Ore Body of Chambishi Mine

At the end of June this year, the inner wall of the auxiliary shaft at the Southeast Ore Body of Chambishi Mine, owned by NFC Africa Mining PLC, a subsidiary of China Nonferrous Mining Corporation Limited, was damaged and collapsed, resulting in one casualty. On July 23 this year, the company had already issued an announcement disclosing the relevant situation. After the incident, the company attached great importance, arranged for the temporary suspension of production at the Southeast Ore Body of Chambishi Mine, and organized experts to conduct on-site inspections and assessments. After investigation, it was found that because the main and auxiliary shafts of the Southeast Ore Body pass through multiple aquifers, although curtain grouting work had been carried out for treatment, the concrete shaft walls had been subjected to long-term erosion and corrosion before the treatment, resulting in varying degrees of damage to the shafts, including localized cracking.

In order to eliminate safety hazards and ensure the long-term safe operation of the Southeast Ore Body project at Chambishi Mine, the company arranged for thorough repair and treatment work on the shaft walls, restoring the damaged sections of the main and auxiliary shafts. On-site, corresponding shaft wall reinforcement plans were formulated based on the degree of damage to the shafts. For severely damaged areas, the solution involved erecting dense shaft rings using No. 20 channel steel and filling them with C30 concrete to form a new composite shaft wall structure of steel rings and concrete.

Due to the difficulty of construction inside the shafts, formal remediation began in September this year. To date, all repair work on the auxiliary shaft has been completed, and repair work on the main shaft is currently underway.The entire repair work is expected to be completed by mid-December this year. During the construction period, production at the Southeast Ore Body of Chambishi Mine is temporarily suspended.

Adjustment2025Production Guidance

Affected by the temporary production suspension at the Southeast Ore Body of Chambishi Mine, the company has adjusted its full-year 2025 production plan. The copper production from its captive mines has been revised from 160,000 mt to 140,000 mt.

China Nonferrous Mining previously released its production and operation report for the first three quarters. From January to September 2025, the company's cumulative production of copper cathode was approximately 108,000 mt, up approximately 12% YoY, reaching about 77% of the annual production guidance. Among this, the production of copper cathode from its captive mines was approximately 63,900 mt, basically flat compared to the same period last year. The company's cumulative production of blister copper and copper anode was approximately 308,000 mt, up approximately 7% YoY, reaching about 77% of the annual production guidance. Among this, the production of blister copper and copper anode from its captive mines was approximately 54,200 mt, down approximately 6% YoY. From January to September 2025, the company's cumulative production of sulphuric acid was approximately 788,000 mt, up approximately 2% YoY, reaching about 79% of the annual production guidance. The cumulative production of cobalt contained in cobalt hydroxide was approximately 676 mt, down approximately 12% YoY, reaching about 75% of the annual production guidance. The cumulative production of liquid sulfur dioxide was approximately 1,442 mt, down approximately 90% YoY, reaching about 14% of the annual production guidance. In the first three quarters of 2025, the company is expected to achieve a net profit attributable to shareholders of approximately $356 million, up about 13% YoY. The main reason for the YoY increase in economic indicators is the rise in international copper prices and the increase in production and sales of copper cathode YoY.

A research report by Guosen Securities on China Nonferrous Mining commented on the core mines: In the first three quarters, NFC Africa Mining produced 49,864 mt of copper anode, down about 2% YoY, mainly due to the temporary suspension of production at the Southeast Ore Body of Chambishi for the replacement of the main and auxiliary shaft collar beams; China Nonferrous Metal Mining (Luanshya) produced 34,785 mt of copper cathode, up about 2% YoY, and produced 3,133 mt of copper anode, basically flat YoY; Kambove Mining SAS produced 28,811 mt of copper cathode, up about 4% YoY. In the first three quarters, the production of the company's captive mines decreased slightly YoY, affected by the temporary suspension of the Southeast Ore Body of Chambishi. The company's annual copper production from captive mines is expected to gradually increase to about 300,000 mt in the medium and long term: The company currently has a total of five mining projects under construction and in preparation, namely: 1) the Chambishi Samba Copper Mine 1.5 million t/a hydrometallurgical project; 2) the China Nonferrous Metal Mining (Luanshya) new mine project, which is currently advancing dewatering, feasibility study design, and facility restoration works, with the potential to increase copper-in-concentrate capacity by about 40,000 mt/year; 3) the Kambove Munsansa ore body project, which has initiated water drainage and discharge works and is expected to commence open-pit mining construction this year; 4) the Kambove West ore body project, currently in the feasibility study and demonstration phase; 5) the second phase of the Chambishi Southeast Ore Body project, planned to be built into a mine with an annual ore mining capacity of 3.3 million mt, with the potential to increase copper-in-concentrate capacity by about 46,000 mt/year. After all five projects are fully commissioned and reach full production, the company is expected to add an annual copper production capacity of 150,000 mt, and the annual copper metal content from captive mines is projected to reach about 300,000 mt by 2030. The company is simultaneously conducting external acquisitions: In June, the company announced the acquisition of a 10.5% stake in the issued share capital of SM Minerals through a share subscription, with the subscription proceeds mainly used for the technical exploration and development of the Bunkulila mining project. SM Minerals, through its subsidiaries, holds assets including the Bunkulila North mining right and the Bunkulila South exploration right. The Bunkulila North mining right holds copper ore reserves of approximately 1.5 million mt of copper metal, with sufficient resources for large-scale mining operations. Considering the company's simultaneous efforts in copper reserve expansion, production increase, and external acquisitions, it is expected to fully benefit from the profit elasticity brought by rising copper prices. The company's dividend payout ratio and dividend yield are at leading levels among peers, maintaining an "Outperform the Market" rating. Risk warnings: Risk of mineral product selling prices not meeting expectations, risk of the company's project construction progress not meeting expectations, risk of changes in mineral resource-related policies in overseas countries.