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.

2025 AND BEYOND
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. 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 2025

K&S advanced the development of the Sutara deposit throughout 2025, steadily increasing its contribution to overall mining volume. As a result, Sutara ore became the predominant feedstock for the main processing plant, while the share of ore sourced from the Kimkan deposit continued to decline in line with the planned transition to Sutara. A key milestone was achieved in December 2025 with the commencement of trial production at the new crushing plant located directly at the Sutara site. This facility is designed to reduce transportation costs associated with hauling Sutara ore to the main processing complex at Kimkan, thereby improving operational efficiency.

K&S operated at the average capacity of approximately 93% in 2025, compared to 75% capacity in 2024. Production volume was 23% higher than that of the previous year, whereas sales were 25% higher.

SALES AND MARKETING

During 2025, K&S continued using the Amur River Bridge for railway shipments to the Chinese customers. During the year, approximately 1.8 million tonnes of concentrate (approximately 63% 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 and in 2025 confirmed the ore quality and its iron beneficiation properties. In 2025, Sutara ore constituted 89% of the total volume of ore mined during the year.

In December 2025, the new crushing plant situated at the Sutara deposit started trial production. With the new crushing plant commissioned, a product of dry magnetic separation will be shipped to Kimkan instead of raw ore, reducing the transportation volume by approximately 20%.

MINING

At the end of 2025, K&S started exploitation of own mining fleet consisting of two excavators and 11 trucks. Total amount of rock mass excavated and hauled using K&S’s own mining fleet in 2025 was approximately 1,111,300 cubic metres, which is approximately 8% of the total volume of rock mass moved. In 2026, share of mining works will increase.

During the reporting period, a total of 13,672,700 cubic metres of rock mass was moved, which represents a 24% decrease from the previous year (2024: 18,097,800 cubic metres). This includes 9,392,500 tonnes of ore, a 2% decrease in tonnage compared to 2024 (2024: 9,570,900 tonnes). Stripping ratio (ratio of the volume of overburden that must be removed to the tonnage of ore mined) decreased by approximately 27% in 2025 compared to 2024.

PRODUCTION

During the year, 9,392,500 tonnes of ore were fed to primary processing, 9.4% more than that in 2024 (2024: 8,583,800 tonnes). 6,940,734 tonnes of pre-concentrate were produced at the Kimkan crushing and screening plant, a 15% increase compared to 2024 (2024: 6,010,820 tonnes). Commercial iron ore concentrate production volume in 2025 of 2,925,373 tonnes was 23% higher than that in 2024 (2024: 2,377,519 tonnes).

UNIT CASH COST

Despite inflation in Russia and stronger rouble exchange rate in 2025, K&S unit cash cost per wet metric tonne of commercial concentrate totalled US$77.6 (2024: US$86.0), representing a decrease of 9.8%. This is mainly due to the higher grade of ore from the Sutara deposit and increased operating efficiency of the processing plant.

SAFETY

Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) represents the number of lost-time injuries per one million man-hours worked. During the reporting period, K&S recorded 3 lost-time injuries (2024: 4 injuries, including 1 fatal accident). LTIFR at K&S decreased to 1.08 in 2025, compared to 1.47 in 2024. At the Group level, LTIFR also improved, declining from 1.38 in 2024 to 1.01 in 2025, which is broadly in line with the average level of the steel industry. No fatal accidents were recorded in 2025.

K&S remains committed to further improving its occupational health and safety performance and reducing 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. IRC will continue to monitor sanctions developments closely and will issue further announcements if necessary.

Garinskoye
99.76% owned

OVERVIEW

Garinskoye, 99.76% 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 DSO-style 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

The Group’s other projects include a Steel Slag Reprocessing Plant (SRP), which was disposed of during 2025, and a mining consultancy services agency (Giproruda).

The 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 had been not material. On 28 July 2025, the Group entered into an Equity Transfer Agreement, pursuant to which the Group agreed to sell and Xianglong, a subsidiary of Jianlong Steel, agreed to purchase the Group’s 46% of the equity interest in the JV Company at a consideration of RMB32.2 million (equivalent to approximately US$4.5 million). The Group ceased to have any equity interest in the SRP project.

Below is a summary of the current portfolio of the other projects of the Group as of 31 December 2025:

Project	Products/Service	Location
Giproruda (70% owned)	Technical mining research	St. Peterburg, Russia