Champion Iron Reports Its FY2025 Fourth Quarter Results and Declares Dividend

Press Release

• Quarterly production of 3.2M wmt, record sales of 3.5M dmt, revenue of $425M and EBITDA of $127M¹
• DRPF project advancing as planned for commissioning in December 2025, including an additional $52M deployed in the quarter with cumulative investments to date of $340M
• Declares eighth consecutive semi-annual dividend of $0.10 per ordinary share

MONTRÉAL, May 28, 2025 – (Sydney, May 29, 2025) – Champion Iron Limited (TSX: CIA) (ASX: CIA) (OTCQX: CIAFF) (“Champion” or the “Company”) reports its operational and financial results for its financial fourth quarter ended March 31, 2025.

Champion’s CEO, Mr. David Cataford, said, “Our team’s agility was once again demonstrated this quarter, as we successfully completed the scheduled semi-annual shutdown while advancing our major DRPF project as planned. Despite seasonal challenges that typically impact transportation logistics, we achieved record quarterly sales of high-purity iron ore concentrate. We expect to continue destocking the significant iron ore concentrate inventories at Bloom Lake in the coming periods, which should further enhance our financial liquidity. Looking ahead, we are intensifying our efforts to reduce operating costs, which were impacted this quarter by a near-term geological sequence. While we remain committed to investing in our long-term growth and improving operational capabilities, our robust financial performance and liquidity allowed us to declare an eighth consecutive dividend.”

Conference Call Details

Champion will host a conference call and webcast on May 29, 2025, at 9:00 AM (Montréal time) / 11:00 PM (Sydney time) to discuss the results of the financial fourth quarter ended March 31, 2025. Call details are set out at the end of this press release.

Operations and Sustainability

• During the three-month period ended March 31, 2025, no major environmental incidents were reported, but following a snowfall incident with minor consequences, safety procedures were reviewed as part of the Company’s continuous improvement process;
• Met or exceeded most annual sustainability targets set in the Company’s previous sustainability report, which incorporated industry best practice disclosure frameworks, including the Global Reporting Initiative, the Sustainability Accounting Standard Board and the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures. The 2025 Sustainability Report is available on the Company’s website at www.championiron.com;
• Quarterly production of 3.2 million wmt (3.1 million dmt) of high-grade 66.5% Fe concentrate for the three-month period ended March 31, 2025, down 13% from the previous quarter, mainly attributable to the scheduled semi-annual shutdowns of both concentration plants, and down 3% over the same period last year;
• Record quarterly sales of 3.5 million dmt for the three-month period ended March 31, 2025, up 6% from the previous quarter and 18% from the prior-year period due to the commissioning of additional rail equipment in previous quarters and despite seasonal weather conditions that usually impact rail shipments during this time of the year;
• Iron ore concentrate stockpiled at Bloom Lake decreased by 341,000 wmt quarter-over-quarter to 2.6 million wmt as at March 31, 2025, as sales volumes exceeded production volumes during the quarter, benefiting from improved rail shipment capabilities. The Company expects that the iron ore concentrate currently stockpiled at Bloom Lake will continue to decrease in future periods; and
• Record material mined and hauled at Bloom Lake, totalling 20.4 million tonnes for the three-month period ended March 31, 2025, up 2% from the previous quarter and 27% from the same period last year.

Financial Results

• Gross average realized selling price of US$111.8/dmt¹, compared to the P65 index average of US$116.9/dmt in the period;
• Net average realized selling price of US$84.9/dmt¹, an increase of 8% quarter-over-quarter, and 2% year-over-year;
• C1 cash cost for the iron ore concentrate loaded onto vessels at the Port of Sept-Îles totalled $80.0/dmt¹ (US$55.7/dmt)², comparable quarter-over-quarter, and representing an increase of 4% year-over-year;
• EBITDA of $127.4 million¹, an increase of 44% quarter-over-quarter, and 50% year-over-year;
• Net income of $39.1 million representing EPS of $0.08, compared to $1.7 million in the previous quarter, due to a slight appreciation of the Canadian dollar against the United States dollar, and compared to a net income of $25.8 million with EPS of $0.05 in the prior-year quarter;
• Cash balance totalled $117.5 million as at March 31, 2025, an increase of $24.4 million since December 31, 2024, mainly resulting from strong cash flows from operating activities, while the Company continued to advance the DRPF project;
• Available liquidity to support growth initiatives, including amounts available from the Company’s credit facilities, totalled $605.9 million¹ as at March 31, 2025, compared to $595.0 million¹ as at December 31, 2024; and
• Semi-annual dividend of $0.10 per ordinary share declared on May 28, 2025 (Montréal) / May 29, 2025 (Sydney), in connection with the annual results for the period ended March 31, 2025. See the Company’s website at www.championiron.com for additional information regarding the declared dividend.

Growth and Development

• The DRPF project, designed to upgrade half of Bloom Lake’s capacity to DR quality pellet feed iron ore grading up to 69% Fe, is progressing as planned, with the commissioning phase expected to start in December 2025. Quarterly and cumulative investments of $51.8 million and $339.5 million, respectively, as at March 31, 2025, compared to the estimated total capital expenditures of $470.7 million as detailed in the project study highlights released in January 2023; and
• Entered into a binding agreement with Nippon Steel Corporation and Sojitz Corporation (collectively, the “Partners”) to form a partnership (the “Partnership”) for the joint ownership and development of the Kami Project (the “Transaction”). During the three-month period ended March 31, 2025, the Company and the Partners continued negotiations towards finalizing the definitive documentation with respect to the Transaction and advanced the definitive feasibility study for the Kami Project (the “DFS”) to be completed by the end of calendar year 2026.

2. Bloom Lake Mine Operating Activities

During the three-month period ended March 31, 2025, production was impacted for several days by the scheduled semi-annual shutdowns of both concentration plants and adjustments to operating and maintenance strategies, implemented to adapt to different ore feed zones, as the Company advanced its long-term mine plan during the period. Additionally, Bloom Lake’s overall performance was impacted by premature wear of the grinding circuits due to the hardness of the ore processed in a geological sequence recently encountered, which is expected to persist in the coming months, and seasonal weather conditions, which primarily disrupted transportation logistics and limited equipment availability.

Sales volumes reached record levels during the three-month period ended March 31, 2025, exceeding production, and enabling a quarter-over-quarter reduction of iron ore concentrate stockpiled at Bloom Lake of 341,000 wmt, to reach 2.6 million wmt as at March 31, 2025. This achievement was driven by the recent commissioning of additional railcars and expanded rolling stock fleet by the Company and the rail operator, respectively. The Company expects that stockpiled volumes of iron ore concentrate will continue to decrease in future periods. However, the pace of future destocking is expected to vary due to scheduled semi-annual maintenance work at the mine and on the rail network, as well as seasonal transportation constraints. Champion continues to work closely with the rail operator to receive consistent contracted haulage services, ensuring that both ongoing production and existing stockpiles at Bloom Lake are hauled over future periods.

The Company remains committed to implement work programs tailored to optimize operations and reliably produce at Bloom Lake’s nameplate capacity. Additionally, Champion continues to analyze opportunities to structurally increase Bloom Lake’s nameplate capacity beyond 15M wmt per year over time.

Since the fourth quarter of the 2024 financial year, the Company has arranged for both plants’ scheduled maintenance to occur in the second and fourth financial quarters. This creates significant quarter-over-quarter variances in production output and mining and processing costs.

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