OSLO - January 15, 2026 - Nordic Mining ASA (ticker NOM.OL), a resource company
with focus on critical minerals, today provides an operational update for the
fourth quarter of 2025 and selected corporate highlights including information
relating to the Company's structured ramp-up program for the Engebø Rutile &
Garnet (ERG) Operation.
Summary
· Production volumes in 4Q25 were behind plan
· Most of the earlier engineering and installation issues have been resolved,
but ERG has experienced challenges in achieving stable operational uptime
· New and strengthened operational team at ERG including international experts
on rutile and garnet
· Contemplated equity raise of NOK 200 million means the company is fully
funded
Nordic Mining achieved the following production volumes at ERG in Q4'25
Production volumes
· 150 metric tons of rutile and 4,950 metric tons of garnet were produced in
fourth quarter of 2025.
· For the full year of 2025, a total of 150 metric tons of rutile was produced
and 12,729 metric tons of garnet were produced and transported to product silos.
Mining and Ore Movement
· Total rock mined in the open pit was for the period 480,000 metric tons,
where 239,000 metric tons of ore and 241,000 metric tons waste rock was moved to
the deposit area.
· Total rock mined in 2025 was 2,128.000 metric tons.
Crushing and milling
· The crushing and milling circuit delivered 199,000 metric tons to the
downstream mineral separation circuits. This is 53% of the quarterly circuit
production capacity.
· The metric tons crushed and milled increased by 125% in the period, up from
88,000 metric tons in Q3-25, with the main increase in November and December.
· Total ore milled in 2025 was 378,000 metric tons.
The challenges
The ramp-up process at Engebø has progressed at a slower pace than originally
anticipated due to technical and operational issues. Process plant stability and
equipment reliability issues have impacted production consistency and
contributed to a weaker operating cash flow in the second half of 2025 than
expected. The problems in the fourth quarter are largely operational and related
to operational uptime and achieving sustained production runs.
There are still some repairs and modifications are outstanding, but the primary
challenge relates to plant operations and equipment reliability. These issues
limit the ability to properly tune and stabilize the mineral separation
processes. A portion of the operational challenges can be traced back to
improper engineering and installation.
Addressing the ramp up challenges: new and strengthened operational team at ERG
Nordic Mining has implemented several de-risking measures, including
organizational changes to focus on resolving operational issues, and aims to be
fully ramped up by late 2026.
"We have appointed Andrew Templeman as the new Managing Director of ERG. He has
a background from the mineral sands in Australia where he managed a mineral
separation plant similar to ERG for 15 years and is one of the leading
specialists in this field", says CEO Finn Ivar Marum in Nordic Mining.
Templeman will be supported by Kyle Greene from The Barton Group as Process
Plant Ramp-up Manager and Robin Cattermole who previously worked for Yara as a
performance and productivity improvement adviser.
Systemex, a Canadian firm specialized in ramp-up of mining operations, has been
retained and are onsite at ERG offering operational and technical support in
ramp up and asset management. Their scope of work is to support the ramp-up
process, review the processing plant, organizational structures and to verify
that the plant's technical installations are capable of reaching the stated
design capacity. The finalization of their review is planned later this month as
we move into a continuous ramp-up support phase.
Extending the commercial long stop date with Orion
Nordic Mining is subject to production milestones under its royalty agreement
with OMRF (Zr) LLC, managed by Orion Resource Partners. Pursuant to this
agreement, the Company was required to demonstrate sustained operation at
specified capacity levels by 31 March 2026 (the "Commercial Longstop Date"). Due
to ramp-up challenges, the Company does not expect to meet this milestone and
have agreed an extension of the Commercial Long Stop Date to 31 March 2027 with
Orion, subject to final documentation.
Negotiating potential joint venture with Barton and revising offtake agreements
Nordic Mining has secured long-term offtake agreements for both rutile and
garnet production. The garnet abrasive market remains relatively tight in Europe
and North America, while natural rutile supply is limited globally, supporting
the strategic positioning of Engebø as a long-term European supplier of critical
industrial minerals. Pricing for garnet is fixed under existing agreements,
while rutile pricing remains linked to market conditions.
Nordic Mining and Barton have entered into negotiations regarding a Joint
Venture for sales and distribution of garnet in Europe and to increase
flexibility in the current supply agreement.
Ongoing legal disputes
Nordic Mining remains engaged in ongoing legal proceedings related to the Engebø
project. These processes continue in parallel with operations and do not
interfere with the Company's current production or ramp-up plans.
Discharge Permits and Operational Permit (NGOs vs the Government)
Regarding the validity claim, Oslo District Court ruled in favor of the State in
January 2024 and found the permits valid, while Borgarting Court of Appeal
rendered all permits invalid in August 2024. The ruling has been appealed to the
Supreme Court and the Supreme Court has decided to hear the case, and the
hearing is set for 27 April - 5 May 2026. Nordic Mining and Norsk Industri will
participate as supporting parties.
Temporary Injunction (NGOs vs Nordic Mining)
The Sogn and Fjordane District Court ruled in favor of Nordic Mining. Both sides
have appealed. The Gulating Court of Appeal has not yet decided on the temporary
injunction claim.
Throughout the process, Nordic Mining has received consistent support from
Norwegian authorities who emphasize the project's strategic importance for
access to critical minerals. Management remains confident in the robustness of
the permitting framework and the company's legal position.
Contemplated equity raise of NOK 200 million means that the company is fully
funded
The Company has engaged Clarksons Securities AS and Pareto Securities AS in
connection with a contemplated equity raise of approximately NOK 200 million. A
company presentation has been prepared in connection with the Private Placement,
which is attached and made available on the Company's website
www.nordicmining.com.
As part of the contemplated equity raise of the Company, more than 2/3 of the
bondholders in the Engebø Rutile and Garnet AS 12.5% Senior Secured 155,500,000
Bonds 2022/2027 with ISIN NO0012734112 have pre-agreed to reduce the minimum
liquidity covenant in the from USD 15 million to USD 10 million, which will
reduce working capital and improve liquidity headroom.
Subject to a successful equity raise and the current cash balance in the Group
of approximately NOK 325 million, the Company expects to be fully funded and
continues to target full ramp-up by late 2026.
Nordic Mining ASA is presenting the fourth quarter results on 4. February at
10:00 CET.
The presentation and corresponding financial report will be published prior to
the presentation.
For further information, please contact CEO, Finn Ivar Marum, mob: +47 982 06
339 finn.ivar.marum@nordicmining.com or visit: https://nordicmining.com/
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This information is considered to include inside information pursuant to the EU
Market Abuse Regulation and is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant
to Section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. This stock exchange
announcement was published by Tord Meling, on 15 January 2026, at 17:00 (CET).
About Nordic Mining:
Nordic Mining ASA ("Nordic Mining" or the "Company") is a resource company with
focus on critical minerals. The Company is undertaking a large-scale industrial
development at Engebø on the west coast of Norway through its wholly owned
subsidiary, Engebø Rutile and Garnet AS, which has mining rights and permits to
a substantial eclogite deposit with rutile and garnet.
In addition, the Group holds a landowner agreement for exploration and
development of a high purity quartz deposit in the Kvinnherad Municipality in
Norway and is currently conducting a test work program where bulk samples from
the deposit will be used for pilot scale processing of high purity quartz
product through a full cycle process. Nordic Mining's project portfolio is of
high international standards and holds significant economic potential. The
assets, and in particular the wholly owned Engebø Project, provide a solid value
basis for Nordic Mining's shareholders.
Nordic Mining is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
This communication is not an offer to sell or purchase, or the solicitation of
an offer to sell or purchase, any securities, or the solicitation of a proxy, in
any jurisdiction in which, or to any person to whom, such offer, sale or
solicitation is not authorized or would be unlawful.
This communication contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies,
future events or performance, and other statements, which are not statements of
historical facts. Forward-looking statements are generally identified by the
words "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "plans",
"will be" and similar expressions. You are cautioned that forward-looking
information and statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many
of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of the
Company, and that could cause actual results and developments to differ
materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward
-looking information and statements contained herein. The forward-looking
statements in this communication speak only as of the date hereof and, other
than as may be required by applicable law, the Company does not undertake any
obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information or statements.