CHAMPION IRON REPORTS ITS FY2026 THIRD QUARTER RESULTS AND ADVANCES THE DRPF PROJECT AS PLANNED

• Quarterly production of 3.7M wmt, record sales of 3.9M dmt, revenue of $472M, net income of $65M, EBITDA of $152M¹ and EPS of $0.12
• DRPF project initial commissioning underway as it advances towards delivering the first shipment by end of calendar H1/2026, as planned
• Reduced iron ore concentrate inventories stockpiled at Bloom Lake by 1.1M wmt to 0.6M wmt
• Announced a cash tender offer to acquire Rana Gruber with financial support from La Caisse and a new term loan commitment by Scotiabank

MONTRÉAL, Jan. 28, 2026 /CNW/ – SYDNEY, January 29, 2026 – Champion Iron Limited (TSX:CIA) (ASX: CIA) (OTCQX:CIAFF) (“Champion” or the “Company“) reports its operational and financial results for its financial third quarter ended December 31, 2025.

Champion’s CEO, Mr. David Cataford, said, “I am proud of our team’s ingenuity and perseverance as we advance strategic initiatives designed to unlock value for our stakeholders in the coming months and reinforce our leadership in the high-purity iron ore industry. We expect to continue to benefit from sales of high-purity iron ore inventories previously stockpiled at Bloom Lake. New markets will become available as we initiate shipments of DR quality iron ore from our DRPF project in the near term. Additionally, we remain focused on the potential closing of the Rana Gruber acquisition, which will diversify our portfolio with another proven high-purity iron ore operation, as well as the anticipated completion of the Kami project definitive feasibility study, leveraging our partnership with Nippon Steel and Sojitz. As our multi-year growth capital investment cycle at Bloom Lake nears completion, we continue to rigorously evaluate growth opportunities and capital allocation strategies to optimize shareholder returns.”

Conference Call Details

Champion will host a conference call and webcast on January 29, 2026, at 9:00 AM (Montréal time) / January 30, 2026, at 1:00 AM (Sydney time) to discuss the results of the financial third quarter ended December 31, 2025. The conference call details are set out at the end of this press release.

1. Quarterly Highlights

Operations and Sustainability

• No serious workplace-related injuries or major environmental incidents were reported during the three-month period ended December 31, 2025;
• Quarterly production of 3.7 million wmt of high-grade 66.5% Fe concentrate for the three-month period ended December 31, 2025, compared to 3.6 million wmt of high-grade 66.3% for the same prior-year period;
• Record quarterly sales of 3.9 million dmt for the three-month period ended December 31, 2025, up 18% from the same prior-year period;
• Iron ore concentrate stockpiled at Bloom Lake decreased by 1.1 million wmt quarter-over-quarter bringing the total to 0.6 million wmt as at December 31, 2025, despite a railway interruption caused by a third-party train derailment on December 28, 2025. Rail services gradually resumed on January 4, 2026. As some tonnes were hauled to the Port of Sept-Îles and not sold, partly due to an outage of the ship loaders in December 2025, stockpiled iron ore concentrate at the port temporarily reached 0.9 million wmt as at December 31, 2025;
• Cumulative iron ore concentrate inventories held at Bloom Lake and at the Port of Sept-Îles totalled 1.5 million wmt as at December 31, 2025, compared to 1.8 million wmt as at September 30, 2025. The Company is evaluating inventory management strategies and expects to sell volumes held at the port in the near term; and
• Strong mining performance with 22.6 million wmt of material mined and hauled at Bloom Lake for the three-month period ended December 31, 2025, an increase of 13% compared to the same prior-year period, driven by additional and improved utilization of loading equipment, and availability of haul trucks.

Financial Results

• Gross average realized selling price of US$116.8/dmt¹, compared to the P65 index average price of US$118.8/dmt in the period;
• Net average realized selling price of US$86.9/dmt¹, a decrease of 6% quarter-over-quarter and an increase of 10% year-over-year;
• C1 cash cost for the iron ore concentrate loaded onto vessels at the Port of Sept-Îles totalled $73.9/dmt¹ (US$53.0/dmt)², representing a decrease of 3% quarter-over-quarter and 6% year-over-year;
• Net income of $65.0 million, representing EPS of $0.12, compared to net income of $56.8 million with EPS of $0.11 in the previous quarter, and net income of $1.7 million with EPS of $0.00 in the same prior-year period;
• EBITDA of $152.4 million¹, compared to $174.8 million¹ in the previous quarter and $88.2 million¹ in the same prior-year period;
• Cash balance, excluding the unused portion of the initial cash contributions from Nippon Steel Corporation (“Nippon Steel”) and Sojitz Corporation (“Sojitz”, and collectively with Nippon Steel, the “Partners”) held in a restricted cash account by Kami Iron Mine Partnership (the “Kami Partnership”), totalled $245.1 million as at December 31, 2025, a decrease of $80.4 million since September 30, 2025, mainly due to capital expenditures and the payment of the ninth consecutive semi-annual dividend, partially offset by robust net cash flows from operating activities; and
• Strong available liquidity to support growth initiatives and general corporate purposes totalled $751.4 million¹ as at December 31, 2025, compared to $840.4 million¹ as at September 30, 2025.

DRPF Project Update

• DRPF project, designed to upgrade half of Bloom Lake’s capacity to DR quality pellet feed iron ore grading up to 69% Fe, progressed as planned, with mechanical commissioning initiated and initial commercial shipments of DR quality iron anticipated by the end of the first half of the 2026 calendar year, gradually increasing thereafter;
• Transfer of knowledge from the construction teams to the internal teams began, along with the commissioning of certain equipment, including the electrical distribution and the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system, and the pressurization of part of the water process;
• Quarterly and cumulative investments totalled $32.9 million and $440.5 million, respectively, as at December 31, 2025, compared to an estimated cumulative investment of $500 million, in line with the inflation-adjusted estimated total capital expenditure of $470.7 million detailed in the project study highlights released in January 2023; and
• Through its ongoing discussions with prospective customers, including in the Middle East and North Africa, Champion expects to secure commercial agreements for its anticipated production of DR quality iron ore, which is expected to attract pricing premiums over the Company’s existing high-purity iron ore concentrate.

Development and Other Growth Initiatives

• Continued work on the Kami Project’s DFS, which is expected to be completed by the end of the 2026 calendar year; and
• Entered into a transaction agreement with Rana Gruber ASA (“Rana Gruber”), a leading Norwegian producer of high-grade iron ore, on the terms of a conditional recommended voluntary cash tender offer to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Rana Gruber at a price of NOK 79 (US$7.79)³ per share (the “Offer”), representing an implied total equity value of approximately NOK 2,930 million (US$289 million)³ (the “Rana Gruber Transaction”). To fund the Rana Gruber Transaction, in addition to using cash on hand, the Company received financial support from Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (“La Caisse”), who has agreed to participate in an equity private placement of subscription receipts by Champion, and from The bank of Nova Scotia (“Scotiabank”), who has provided a binding commitment for a new term loan. Additional details on the Rana Gruber Transaction can be found on the Company’s press release dated December 21, 2025 (Montréal), available under its profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca, the ASX at www.asx.com.au and the Company’s website at www.championiron.com.

2. Bloom Lake Mine Operating Activities 

The Company performs both its plants’ scheduled maintenance in the second and fourth financial quarters, which may create significant quarter-over-quarter variances in production output and mining and processing costs.

Bloom Lake produced 3.7 million wmt of high-grade 66.5% Fe concentrate during the three-month period ended December 31, 2025, which was comparable to production recorded during the same period in 2024. The Company continues to encounter higher ore hardness, partly attributable to a specific extension of a pit being mined to enable shorter haul access to waste dumps. Despite this situation, this year’s quarterly production was positively impacted by increased recoveries resulting from improved performance of the gravimetric systems following the application of work programs and optimization of operations. During the three-month period ended December 31, 2025, the Fe recovery rate was 79.7%, compared to 79.1% for the same period in 2024. The increase in iron ore concentrate production was mostly offset by the negative impact of lower head grade, and a planned maintenance-related power interruption by the service provider during the three-month period ended December 31, 2025. While recovery rates are expected to fluctuate in accordance with the mine plan and its variations in ore grade, the Company will remain focused on improving and stabilizing recovery rates over time. The impact of the recently encountered ore hardness, which is easing compared to previous quarters, is mitigated by strong mining performance, which should enable the optimized blending of material from different pits.

Despite a breakdown on the port operator’s ship loaders at the end of December 2025, sales volumes increased by 18% during the three-month period ended December 31, 2025, compared to the same prior-year period, and exceeded production for the fourth consecutive quarter. While a planned shutdown of third-party port operations for infrastructure maintenance impacted both financial quarters, during the three-month period ended December 31, 2024, sales volumes were also affected by the breakdown of a critical piece of equipment at the Bloom Lake’s train load-out facility, which caused a 14-day interruption of rail haulage activities.

Despite a third-party train derailment that occurred late in December 2025, the level of iron ore concentrate stockpiled at Bloom Lake decreased by 1.1 million wmt to reach 0.6 million wmt as at December 31, 2025. Since the volume hauled was not fully sold during the quarter, the iron ore concentrate stockpiled at the Port of Sept-Îles totalled 0.9 million wmt at quarter-end. This temporary accumulation of iron ore concentrate at the port was in part due to the unexpected ship loaders breakdown outlined above, and also resulted from the Company’s strategic decision to maintain a certain level of stockpiles during the commissioning phase of the DRPF project. Cumulative iron ore concentrate inventories at Bloom Lake and at the port totalled 1.5 million wmt as at December 31, 2025, compared to 1.8 million wmt as at September 30, 2025. The Company is currently evaluating on-site and port inventory management strategies in anticipation of the expected change to its product offering with DRPF quality iron ore and expects to sell the iron ore concentrate held at the port in the near term.

During the three-month period ended December 31, 2025, the Company mined and hauled 22.6 million wmt of waste and ore, surpassing the 20.0 million wmt recorded in the same prior-year period. This strong mining performance was driven by additional loading equipment, as well as improved utilization and availability of haul trucks. During the quarter, the Company also commissioned a new drill which allowed the Company to mine and haul a higher volume of waste material, resulting in a stripping ratio of 1.15 for the three-month period ended December 31, 2025, higher than the 0.94 ratio recorded in the same prior-year period. Champion anticipates maintaining elevated stripping activity in upcoming periods, consistent with its LoM plan.

3. Financial Performance 

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