Lundin Mining – Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results – Toronto Stock Exchange: MON

TORONTO, February 14, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – (TSX: LUN; Nasdaq Stockholm: LUMI) Lundin Mining Corporation ("Lundin Mining" or the "Company") today reported $ 44.2 million of cash generated from operations in the fourth quarter and $ 476.4 million for the year. Net income from continuing operations attributable to Lundin Mining shareholders was $ 28.8 million ($ 0.04 per share) for the quarter and $ 195.9 million ($ 0.27 per share) for the year ended December 31, 2018.

Fourth quarter net income includes unrealized foreign exchange losses of $ 11.9 million ($ 0.02 per share), an early redemption fee of $ 16.9 million ($ 0.02 per share) and other non-recurring gains of $ 4.4 million ($ 0.01 per share).

Marie Inkster, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented:We are pleased with our operating performance in 2018. We exceeded our overall safety performance target for the sixth year in a row and met or exceeded the latest production and cash cost forecasts for all metals at all operations. .

Significant progress has been made in implementing our growth initiatives in Candelaria's zinc expansion projects, Eagle East and Neves-Corvo. We are well positioned to carry out these projects in 2019 and early 2020 to improve production and free cash flow over the next few years.

We are entering 2019 with a solid financial position with approximately $ 800 million in cash, nominal debt and $ 1.4 billion in cash. The strategy remains focused on value creation through a disciplined capital allocation, investments in our existing badets and potential external acquisition opportunities. "

Summary financial results for the quarter and year-to-date

¹ Attributable to the shareholders of Lundin Mining Corporation.
² Basic and diluted net income per share attributable to the shareholders of Lundin Mining Corporation.
³ Net cash is a non-GAAP measure defined as cash and cash equivalents, less long-term debt and operating leases, before deferred financing costs.

Strong points

Operational performance
All costs related to metal production and all activities met or exceeded the Company's latest annual forecast. Capital expenditures of $ 751.8 million for the year were also in line with the most recent forecasts. Work on the Candelaria and Eagle projects continued with excellent progress to date. Work on the Zinc Expansion Project ("ZEP") in Portugal was delayed in 2018 and steps were taken during the fourth quarter to improve project implementation.

Candelaria (80% owned): Candelaria 's operations produced, at 100%, 134,578 tonnes of copper, approximately 78,000 ounces of gold and 1.2 million ounces of silver in concentrate over the course of the year. year. Copper production was lower than in the previous year due to the planned extraction and processing of lower quality materials. Coping costs of USD 1.68 / lb were higher than forecast for the full year, but higher than the previous year. The decline in metal production, combined with higher diesel and labor costs, contributed to higher unit production costs for the current year.

The Candelaria plant optimization project has progressed as planned with construction completed at around 40% by the end of the year. The ramp-up of the underground north Candelaria sector continues to deliver excellent results and currently operates at an average of about 10,200 tonnes per day. The development of the southern sector continues and has progressed further than expected. With the advancement of development, the project schedule is being reviewed to consider a possible advancement in the production start date, end of 2019.

About 60% of the new open pit fleet was received and put into service, the rest of the equipment to be delivered in 2019 and 2020.

Eagle (100% owned): Eagle production for the year reached or exceeded the most recent forecasts, with 17,573 tonnes of nickel and 17,974 tonnes of copper. Quantities were lower than those of the previous year due to the planned sequencing of the mine. Cash costs of $ 1.01 / lb for the year were higher than forecast, but slightly higher than in the prior year as higher unit operating costs were due lower sales volumes.

The ramp development at Eagle East continues ahead of schedule. The first ore is expected to enter the plant in the fourth quarter of 2019. The underground definition drilling from the ramp to Eagle East is underway.

Neves-Corvo (100% owned): Neves-Corvo produced 45,692 tonnes of copper and 75,435 tonnes of zinc for the year, exceeding the most recent forecasts. Copper and zinc production for the year was also higher than the previous year due to improved mine productivity and increased mill throughput, as the execution of the mine plan and, to a lesser extent, the improvement of the grade. Copper cash costs of US $ 1.28 / lb for the year were higher than expected but higher than in the prior year due to lower by – product credits. Cash costs in the current year benefited from lower unit costs for mines, mills and administrative costs badociated with higher copper sales volumes.

Construction on ZEP was about 43% complete by the end of the year. Underground development is on track, with ore from this new mine area expected to contribute to mill feed in the first quarter of 2020. Construction of surface facilities is to be completed and commissioning commenced at the beginning of the year. early 2020. Following a third-party review, the total capital cost of the project is now expected to be $ 385 million (320 million).

Zinkgruvan (100% owned): Production of zinc (76,606 tonnes) and lead (24,613 tonnes) exceeded the most recent forecasts, but was lower than the previous year, due to lower head grades resulting from sequencing. mines and a dilution and ore loss higher than expected. The operation continues to focus on optimizing the design of mine sites, the execution of mining and ore monitoring to improve these factors. Zinc cash costs of $ 0.34 / lb for the fiscal year were lower than expected, but higher than the prior year primarily due to higher unit costs as a result of lower sales. sales volumes.

Highlights of the company

• On April 26, 2018, the Company launched an offer to purchase the entire $ 450,000,000 principal amount of the 2022 Notes. A principal amount of $ 10.8 million was tendered and accepted.
• On July 25, 2018, the company announced that after a successful seven-year term as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, Paul Conibear would retire. As a result of the Board's succession planning process, Marie Inkster, Senior Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer, was selected and badumed the role of President and Chief Executive Officer on October 1, 2018.
• On July 26, 2018, the Company announced an offer to purchase all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Nevsun Resources Ltd. This offer expired November 9, 2018 without stock.
• On September 6, 2018, the Company published its mineral resource and mineral reserve estimates as at June 30, 2018 on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). On a consolidated and attributable basis, the metals contained in the Proven and Probable Mineral Reserve categories total 3,672,000 tonnes of copper, 3,374,000 tonnes of zinc and 108,000 tonnes of nickel.
• On October 1, 2018, the Company announced the appointment of two new management members: Jinhee Magic, formerly Lundin Mining's Vice President of Finance, was appointed Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and Peter Rockandel, Vice-President, Senior President, Business Development and Investor Relations.
• On October 22, 2018, the Company issued a notice of redemption of the remaining 2022 Notes in accordance with the Note Agreement. Repayment of all 2022 Notes was made on November 21, 2018. It was also announced that the Company had entered into an agreement to amend its revolving credit facility (the "Facility"), which increases the facility to $ 550 million. dollars with a $ 50 million accordion. option, reducing borrowing costs and extending the term until October 2022, from June 2020.
• On November 28, 2018, the Company filed an updated technical report for the Candelaria copper mining complex in Chile. Please refer to the press release "Lundin Mining Provides Operational Outlook and Update" on the Company's website. The report is under the company's profile on SEDAR and on the company's website.
• On December 4, 2018, the Company announced that the Toronto Stock Exchange had accepted notice of its intention to launch a normal course issuer bid ("NCIB"). This approval allows the Company to purchase up to 63,718,842 common shares of the Company over a period of twelve months from December 7, 2018, although no shares have been purchased to date. The NCIB will expire no later than December 6, 2019.

Financial performance

• Gross profit for the year ended December 31, 2018 was $ 436.6 million, a decrease of $ 383.7 million from $ 820.3 million reported in 2017. This decrease is mainly due to the impact of lower sales volumes ($ 133.6 million), cost ($ 185.9 million) and lower realized metals prices, net of price adjustments ($ 90.0 million).
• For the year ended December 31, 2018, the Company reported net income from continuing operations of $ 215.4 million, a decrease of $ 231.5 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2018. December 2017 ($ 446.9 million). Comparative net income for the current year decreased due to lower gross profit ($ 383.7 million), partially offset by lower income tax expense ($ 115.0 million) ).
• Net cash at December 31, 2018 was $ 804.4 million compared with net cash of $ 1,110.5 million at December 31, 2017. The Company generated cash flow from operations. of 476.4 million USD and used investment activities of 675.4 million USD mainly 92.0 million dollars for the payment of dividends and interest.

Perspective

2019 Orientation of production and costs
The 2019 production, receipts, investment and exploration forecasts remain unchanged from those reported on November 28, 2018 (see press release "Lundin Mining provides operational perspectives and an update ").

Guideline on Capital Expenditures for 2019
Capital expenditures, excluding capitalized interest, are expected to be $ 745 million, as noted below.

Orientation on investments in exploration 2019
Exploration investments are expected to reach approximately $ 80 million in 2019, of which $ 67 million will be spent on targets in and around the mine.

About Lundin Mining

Lundin Mining Corporation is a diversified Canadian base metals company with operations in Chile, the United States, Portugal and Sweden and produces mainly copper, zinc and nickel. In addition, Lundin Mining holds an indirect 24% interest in the Freeport Cobalt Oy business, which includes a cobalt refinery located in Kokkola, Finland.

The information in this release is subject to Lundin Mining's disclosure obligations under the EU Market Abuse Regulation. This information was publicly disclosed on February 14, 2019 at 5:45 pm Eastern Time.

For more information, please contact:
Mark Turner, Director, Business Valuations and Investor Relations: +1 416 342 5565
Brandon Throop, Director, Investor Relations: +1 416 342 5583
Robert Eriksson, Investor Relations in Sweden: +46 8 545 015 50

Caution regarding forward-looking information
Certain statements and information contained herein or incorporated by reference constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. All statements other than statements of historical fact in this press release are forward-looking statements based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections, as well as the views and badumptions of the Company's management. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those regarding the Company's outlook and guidance on estimated metal production and production profile, costs, exploration and capital expenditures; the Zinc Expansion Project in Neves-Corvo and the Eagle East Project; Mineral reserves, mineral resources, mine life (or life of the mine); all estimates (together with the parameters, expectations and underlying badumptions and realization thereof, including, but not limited to, metal price badumptions and expectations). The terms such as "objective", "anticipate", "hypothesis", "believe", "budget", "commitment", "estimate", "expansionist", "expect", "exploration", "Flexibility", "focus", "forecast", "predictable", "predictable", "future" "," growth "," orientation "," initiative "," on track "," perspectives "," plan " , "positioning", "potential", "priority", "profile", "project", "high ramp", "risk", "schedule", "study", "target" or "view", or variants thereof or similar terms, or statements that certain acts, events or results could, could or could be taken or happen or be or variations in such terms or similar terminology or statements that certain actions, events or results that may or may be, or will be, or will be, or will be achieved are intended to identify such forward-looking information. and other forward-looking statements are based on a number of badumptions and are subject to various risks. and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risks and uncertainties inherent in and / or related to: estimates of future production and operations, cash and total sustaining costs; fluctuations in the prices of metals and commodities; foreign currency fluctuations; mining operations, including but not limited to environmental hazards, industrial accidents, ground control problems and floods; geology, including, but not limited to, unusual or unexpected geological formations, estimation and modeling of grade, tonnes, metallurgical continuity of mineral deposits, dilution, mineral resources and mineral reserves, and recoveries of ore and / or actual metals ranging from such estimates; mine plans and mine life estimates; the possibility that future exploration, development or exploitation results do not meet expectations; the potential and effects of labor disputes or shortages, or other unforeseen difficulties with or interruptions in production; unforeseen costs and expenses including, but not limited to, the closure and reclamation of the mine in current and historical operations; uncertain political and economic environment; changes in laws or policies, foreign taxation, delays or inability to obtain necessary government approvals and / or authorizations; regulatory investigations, enforcement, sanctions and / or related or other litigation; and other risks and uncertainties, including those described in the "Risk Management" section of the Company's MD & A and in the "Risks and Uncertainties" section of our most recent Annual Information Form. In addition, the forward-looking information is based on various badumptions, including management's expectations and beliefs; badumed prices of copper, nickel, zinc and other metals; that the company can access financing, appropriate equipment and sufficient manpower; and that the political environment in which the company operates will continue to support the development and operation of mining projects. If one or more of these risks and uncertainties were to materialize or if the underlying badumptions were to prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, there can be no badurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate and readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements or to explain any material differences between such events and subsequent events, except as required by applicable law.