Significant Production Increase And Metallurgical Recoveries With Stage 2A Expansion Commissioned

VANCOUVER - K92 Mining Inc. reported on production results for the second quarter (Q2) at its Kainantu Gold Mine in Papua New Guinea, of 30,794 oz AuEq or 27,405 oz gold, 1,526,547 lbs copper and 34,001 oz silver, representing an increase of 18% from Q2 2022 and 43% from Q1 2023, respectively. Sales during the quarter were 28,141 oz gold, 1,657,115 lbs copper and 36,253 oz silver.

Underground mine performance strengthened significantly after early April, which was impacted by an area of localized challenging ground conditions. Long hole stoping performed to design, with mining focusing on Kora’s K1 and K2 veins, and Judd’s J1 Vein. During the quarter, 10 levels were mined for a total of 109,155 ore tonnes mined, and the mill head grade averaged 9.23 g/t AuEq or 8.20 g/t gold, 0.66% copper and 11.56 g/t silver. Mining on Kora was conducted on the 1130, 1150, 1170, 1205, 1265, 1285, 1305 and 1325 levels, and Judd on the 1235 and 1325 levels.

In May, a major milestone was achieved; the commissioning of the final component of the Stage 2A Plant Expansion resulting in the doubling of rougher flotation circuit capacity. After commissioning, the process plant recorded a significant increase in metallurgical recoveries for gold and copper. In June, the first full month of the Stage 2A Expansion being fully commissioned, recoveries averaged 93.0% for gold and 92.9% for copper. Recoveries for Q2 averaged 92.4% for gold and 92.8% for copper, the highest since Q4 2021 for both gold and copper, and significantly higher than the 2022 average of 90.4% for gold and 90.5% for copper. Total ore processed during the quarter was 112,471 tonnes. With the Stage 2A Plant Expansion now commissioned, optimization efforts are underway, including to increase throughput that we believe has the potential to be materially greater than its nameplate design.

As previously reported, underground mining operations were briefly suspended on June 28 following an underground vehicular incident. There was limited impact to surface activities and surface stockpiles were treated during the suspension. Underground mining operations resumed the first week of July.

Notably, production and cost guidance for 2023 remain unchanged, with the second half of 2023 expected to be our strongest in terms of production, and 2023 production being within the lower half of the guidance range (as previously disclosed). The anticipated stronger production for the second half of 2023 is based on an expected significant increase to our operational flexibility and stope sequencing.