ABOUT US
IRC is the largest iron ore mining operator in the Russian Far East. Our long-term relationships with customers in China and Russia, as well as our world-class operations, enable us to focus on producing high-quality iron ore concentrates.

WHY IRC
IRC stands out in the iron ore market due to its competitive advantages, namely superior geology and direct access to China, the world’s largest iron ore market, through established world-class infrastructure.

OUR FUTURE
K&S mine, our flagship 3.2 million tonnes per annum project, produces high quality 65% iron ore concentrate and is operating at a high capacity. In the long term, we have the options to boost the Group’s production capacity by adding processing equipment to K&S (“Phase II”), and also by developing other exploration projects of IRC.

OUR PROJECTS

K&S
100% owned

OVERVIEW

K&S, wholly owned by IRC, is located in the Jewish Autonomous Region (EAO) of the Russian Far East. It is the Group’s second full-scale mining and processing operation. The project comprises two primary deposits, Kimkan and Sutara. The K&S Phase I is designed to produce 3.2 million tonnes of iron ore concentrate annually, with a grade of 65% Fe. The Phase I Processing Plant was constructed by CNEEC. According to the development timeline for the K&S Phase I project, mining at the Sutara deposit will commence in parallel with Kimkan in 2024, with Sutara’s mine life exceeding 30 years. There is an option for a Phase II expansion to increase production to a total of 6.3 million tonnes of 65% iron ore concentrate per annum. As an interim development between the two phases, IRC is evaluating an option to upgrade the Phase I production facility to boost capacity to approximately 4.6 million tonnes per annum.  

K&S benefits from a strong geographical advantage. The mine site is directly connected to the Trans-Siberian Railway, enabling efficient product delivery to customers. The opening of the Amur River Bridge in 2022 has further reduced shipping distances for IRC and its customers. 

K&S’s operations are located 4 kilometres from the town of Izvestkovaya and its railway station, which lies on the Trans-Siberian Railway. The site is also accessible via a federal highway, situated 130 kilometres from the regional capital, Birobidzhan, and 300 kilometres from Khabarovsk, the principal city of the Russian Far East.

OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE IN 2024

2024 was a pivotal year for K&S, as mining operations at the Sutara deposit commenced in July 2024. This milestone is expected to address the ore quality issues encountered in 2023 and the first half of 2024. 

Production in the beginning 2024 was limited by the lower yield of iron ore concentrate from ore due to the lower content of Femagn in the ore processed. However, after the commencement of mining at Sutara, K&S was able to ramp up production: while the average capacity level in the first quarter of 2024 was 68% (531,172 tonnes of commercial concentrate produced), in the fourth quarter 2024, the capacity level reached was 80% (636,362 tonnes of commercial concentrate produced). Overall, K&S operated at the average capacity of approximately 75% in 2024. Production volume was 3.6% lower than during the previous year, whereas sales were 7.5% lower.

SALES AND MARKETING

During 2024, K&S continued using the Amur River Bridge for railway shipments to the Chinese customers. During the year, approximately 1.6 million tonnes of concentrate (approximately 68% of total) were shipped via the bridge. 

Seaborne sales continued to be suspended due to the volatile operating environment which makes such sales uneconomical.

SUTARA PIT

Mining operation at the Sutara deposit, which is situated approximately 15 km south-south-west of Kimkan, commenced in July 2024. Sutara is providing iron ore material to the processing plant and extend the mine life as Kimkan deposit approaches depletion. The results of using the Sutara ore in the second part of 2024 confirmed the ore quality and its iron beneficiation properties.

Up to 31 December 2024, approximately US$44.1 million of capital expenditure had been incurred at the Sutara project. It is estimated that approximately US$9.5 million will be spent on Sutara in 2025, mostly related to the completion of the crushing and screening plant and access roads. The expenditure is expected to be selffunded by cashflow generated by K&S.

MINING

Currently, K&S does not have own mining fleet, and the mining works on site are carried by third-party mining contractors. During the reporting period, the mining contractors moved 18,097,800 cubic metres of rock mass, which represents 9% decrease from the same period of the previous year (2023: 19,794,300 cubic meters). This includes 9,570,900 tonnes of ore, a 4% increase in tonnage compared to 2023 (2023: 9,237,000 tonnes). Stripping ratio (ratio of the volume of overburden that must be removed to the tonnage of ore mined) decreased by approximately 14% in 2024 compared to 2023. 

In 2025, K&S is planning to purchase own mining equipment to partially replace the existing mining contractors.

PRODUCTION
During the year, 8,583,800 tonnes of ore were fed to primary processing, 6% less than in 2023 (2023: 9,124,300 tonnes). 6,010,820 tonnes of pre-concentrate were produced, a 4% decrease compared to 2023 (2023: 6,239,668 tonnes). Commercial iron ore concentrate production volume in 2024 was also 4% lower than in 2023: 2,377,519 tonnes (2023: 2,466,829 tonnes).

UNIT CASH COST

In 2024, K&S unit cash cost per wet metric tonne of commercial concentrate totalled US$86.0 (excluding transportation: US$70.6). 

K&S’s Rouble-denominated cash costs are expected to rise in the short to medium term due to the longer transport distance of ore from the Sutara deposit to the Kimkan processing plant, as well as general inflation in Russia. However, once Sutara reaches full production capacity and ore quality improves, there is potential for K&S to manage costs more effectively.

SAFETY
Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) is a calculation of the number of lost-time injuries per one million hours man-worked. During the reporting period, K&S recorded 4 injuries (2023 injuries: 3), and 1 fatal accident, for the first time over the past five years, and a LTIFR of 1.38 (2023 LTIFR: 1.08). K&S remains committed to further improving its LTIFR.

IMPACT OF SANCTIONS AGAINST RUSSIA
IRC is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and operates mines in the Russian Far East. Most of the Group’s suppliers and customers are based in China and Russia. The Company continues to evaluate the potential impact of UK, EU, and US sanctions. As of now, and to the best of the Board’s knowledge based on current assessments and available information, the sanctions have no material direct impact on the Group or its operations. Although the Group’s operations and activities in Russia and elsewhere continue as usual, the evolving geopolitical situation poses a risk of supply chain disruptions affecting K&S’s operations, the purchase of mining equipment, and the development of the Sutara pit. IRC will continue to monitor sanctions developments closely and will issue further announcements if necessary.

Garinskoye
99.6% owned

OVERVIEW
Garinskoye, 99.6% owned by IRC, is an advanced exploration project. The project provides an opportunity for a low-cost DSO-style operation that can be transformed into a large-scale and long-life open pit mining operation. 

The project is located in the Amur Region of the Russian Far East, midway between the BAM and Trans-Siberian Railways. With exploration licences for ground covering an area of over 3,500 km₂, the project is the largest in the IRC portfolio in terms of area.

FUTURE DEVELOPMENT

There are two possibilities to develop Garinskoye. The first option is to develop a large-scale 4.6 million tonnes per annum open-pit operation with a life-of-mine of 20 plus years, which requires the construction of a rail connection. The second option is an intermediate DSOstyle operation that does not require a rail connection and can be started in advance of a larger conventional operation. The DSO-style plan comprises a pit with a reserve of 26.2 million tonnes, a grade of 47% Fe, and a stripping ratio of 1.7:1 m3 per tonne. The DSO-style plan would then be able to produce 1.9 million tonnes per annum, with 55% grade iron ore fines and a life of operation of 8 years. There is an option to further increase the project value at very little additional capital expenditure by adding a further wet magnetic separation stage to produce a high-grade “super-concentrate” with a 68% iron ore content. 

In 2013, IRC conducted an internal Bankable Feasibility Study. A third-party verification and a fatal flaws analysis for the DSO-style operation was carried out in 2014. 

The Company is currently reviewing the options on how to move the project forward.

Other Projects
EXPLORATION PROJECTS & OTHERS
IRC’s other exploration projects comprise an extensive portfolio that is diversified by geography, commodity and development stages. This seeks to add value through the discovery of new resources and the increase and confirmation of mineable reserves. Currently, IRC retains these valuable licenses for later development. Apart from exploration projects, IRC is also active in the complementary business of the Steel Slag Reprocessing Plant (SRP) and a mining consultancy services agency (Giproruda). SRP project, a joint venture with Jianlong Steel, originally sourced the feedstock from Kuranakh, and as Kuranakh was moved to care and maintenance in 2016, and then liquidated in 2021, the plant successfully switched to the local Chinese feedstock. Due to the relatively small scale of the project, SRP’s contribution to the Group results is not material. Below is a summary of the current portfolio of exploration projects for the Group:

Project	Products/Service	Location
Bolshoi Seym (100% owned)	Ilmenite	Amur Region, Russian Far East
SRP (46% owned)	Vanadium Pentoxide	Heilongjiang, China
Giproruda (70% owned)	Technical mining research	St. Peterburg, Russia