Abra December Production Update

GALENA MINING LTD. (“Galena” or the “Company”) (ASX: G1A) is pleased to provide preliminary production numbers for the Abra Base Metals Mine (“Abra”) for the month of December 2023 and the December quarter (subject to final reconciliation). Production levels during December show further improvement with new record highs achieved in several production areas including concentrate production, processed ore tonnes and mine development.

Abra Mining Pty Ltd (“AMPL”) made the first debt repayment of US$4.5M on its Taurus Debt Facilities in December 2023. Based on the mine’s performance during the 2023 ramp-up year to the end of December and continuing technical evaluation work being undertaken on the production outlook for 2024, AMPL has commenced discussions with key stakeholders as part of a strategic review of operations with an initial focus on better matching the capital structure of AMPL to Abra’s expected performance. These discussions are ongoing and are anticipated to be concluded during 1H 2024. The market will be kept informed regarding the progress of these discussions.

DECEMBER HIGHLIGHTS

• The following production metrics were achieved in December (subject to end of month reconciliations):
  • New monthly record ore processed of ~122kt (i.e., >1.45Mtpa implied annualised production rate compared to original design annualised throughput of 1.3Mtpa).
  • Ore mined of ~101kt at 5.6% Pb (~58kt at 5.5% Pb of Stope ore and ~43kt at 5.8% Pb of development ore. ~21kt at 2.1% Pb low-grade from mine development was also processed during the month). The grade improvement seen in development ore came from the addition of new core-vein headings. Processed ore grade will continue to improve with increased levels of stope production in the mill feed (targeting 80% of monthly ore production).
  • New monthly record for underground development of ~947m (compared to previous best month in September 2023 when 807m was achieved).
  • December lead concentrate shipment departed from Geraldton containing 9,622t on 15 December 2023. Next shipment is scheduled for 11 January 2024.
• Expected December quarter mining and processing production estimates (subject to final end of month reconciliations):
  • Processing ~358kt at 4.7% Pb (Inclusive of low-grade top-up feed material).
  • ~25kt of lead concentrate produced.
  • Mining ~280kt at 5.6% Pb ore and ~2,440m of development.

Managing Director, Tony James commented, “In December, Abra has achieved the best production month year to date. Processing throughput continued to improve, and the processing plant consistently reached levels above the original design criteria of 1.3Mtpa. Mining and specifically stopping has not reached the levels required to match the plant which resulted in low-grade material being used as supplement feed lowering the overall processing grade.

Production schedules have been based on the monthly requirement of +800m lateral development being achieved. Not achieving this consistently in 2023 has had a detrimental affect with limited access to higher grade ore reserves.

The mining performance and grade is expected to continue to improve in 2024 with depth, additional work areas and higher stope production quantities. New technical evaluation work is currently underway which will form the basis of the 2024 outlook and ongoing discussions with key stakeholders based on the latest understanding of the orebody and other key performance indicators.

During December, underground development has accessed several high-grade core veins on the 1210mRL level which is confirming the latest geological information and understanding of that part of the orebody and its importance. During December the mined development grade was higher than the stopping grade for the first time”.

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