Conic Highlights Ramu Operating Results
NEWS RELEASE TSX Venture: NKL
CONIC HIGHLIGHTS RAMU OPERATING RESULTS
TORONTO, ONTARIO, February 24, 2020 — Conic Metals Corp. (“Conic” or the “Company”) (TSXV:
NKL) is pleased to provide its first summary of the operating performance of the Company’s largest asset,
being the Ramu Nickel-Cobalt (“Ramu”) integrated operation in Papua New Guinea (“ PNG”), which
management believes is one of the largest and most ambitious mining and processing projects to have been
successfully brought into production in PNG during the past decade. Conic currently holds an 8.56% joint-
venture interest in the Ramu operation. Ramu is operated by the Metallurgical Corporation of China
(“MCC”) which, along with its partners, owns an 85.0% interest in Ramu.
“For the third consecutive year, Ramu has exceeded design production capacity and remained one of the
lowest cost integrated nickel mines in the world,” stated Justin Cochrane, Conic’s President and CEO. He
continued, “MCC has once again delivered outstanding operational and financial performance at our Ramu
nickel-cobalt operation and we continue to work with our joint -venture partners to maximize value, from
one of the world’s largest nickel-cobalt operations, for the benefit of all stakeholders.”
Ramu’s operating and financial performance for the last 8 quarters is shown below, noting that these figures
are unaudited.
Additional notes:
A. Conic has included certain performance measures in this press release that do not have any standardized
meaning prescribed by international financial reporting standards (IFRS) including (i) C1 Cash Cost and
(ii) Cash Cost Actual . The presentation of these non -IFRS measures is intended to provide additional
information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance
prepared in accordance with IFRS. Other companies may calculate these non -IFRS measures differently.
Note these figures have not been audited and are subject to change.
B. These figures have not been audited and are subject to change. As the company has not yet finished its
year-end annual close procedures, and the audit of its 2019 financial statements is not complete, the
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Full Year Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Full Year
Ore Processed (dry kt) 877 950 920 963 3,710 800 959 911 886 3,556
MHP Produced (dry tonne) 21,688 23,949 22,750 23,871 92,258 19,653 22,490 21,186 19,695 83,024
Contained Nickel (tonne) 8,210 9,159 8,804 9,182 35,355 7,663 8,767 8,390 7,902 32,722
Contained Cobalt (tonne) 774 870 793 838 3,275 704 793 740 674 2,911
Nickel Capacity Utilization (% of design1) 101% 112% 108% 113% 108% 94% 108% 103% 97% 100%
MHP Shipped (dry tonnne) 23,827 17,114 1,352 24,272 66,565 17,219 24,607 37,605 24,460 103,891
Contained Nickel (tonne) 9,024 6,999 524 9,413 25,960 6,588 9,457 14,531 9,685 40,261
Contained Cobalt (tonne) 861 655 48 865 2,429 609 861 1,329 827 3,626
C1 Cash Cost2
$2.50 $1.84 $1.50 $2.46 $2.46 $2.34 $3.14 $3.69 $4.05 $4.05
C1 Cash Cost for 25th Percentile2
$1.73 $1.85 $2.12 $2.60 $2.60 $2.56 $3.48 $3.42 $4.05 $4.05
Cash Cost Actual3
$0.63 $0.02 $1.32 $1.49 $0.87 $2.44 $2.41 $2.75 $2.68 $2.57
Note (1) Ramu design capacity of 32,600tonne/year contained Ni
Note (2) As reported by Wood Mackenzie (full year basis)
Note (3) Actual Cash Cost net of byproduct credit
2018 2019
anticipated financial information presented in this press release is preliminary, subject to final year -end
closing adjustments and may change materially. The information presented above has not been audited by
the company's independent accountants, should not be considered a substitute for audited financi al
statements and should not be regarded as a representation by the company as to the actual financial results.
About Conic
Conic Metals Corp. is a base metals company offering direct exposure to nickel and cobalt, both being
critical elements of electric vehicles and energy storage systems. Conic holds an 8.56% joint -venture
interest in the producing, long-life and world-class Ramu Nickel-Cobalt Operation located in Papua New
Guinea which provides Conic with significant attributable nickel and cobalt production. In addition, Conic
manages a portfolio of 11 nickel and cobalt royalties on development and exploration projects in Canada
and Australia. Conic will continue to invest in a battery metals-focused portfolio of streams, royalties and
direct interests in mineral properties containing battery metals.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains certain information which constitutes ‘forward -looking statements’ and
‘forward-looking information’ within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Any statements
that are contained in this news release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-
looking statements. Forward looking statements are often identified by terms such as “may”, “sh ould”,
“anticipate”, “expect”, “potential”, “believe”, “intend” or the negative of these terms and similar
expressions. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to : statements
with respect to the business; and, assets of Conic and its strategy going forward and statements pertaining
to future events or future performance . Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward -
looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, most
of which are beyond the Company’s control. Should one or more of the risks or uncertainties underlying
these forward -looking statements materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward -looking
statements prove incorrect, actual results , performance or achievements could vary materially from those
expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this release and, other than as
required by applicable securi ties laws, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise
them to reflect new events or circumstances. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are
expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in
the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
release. No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved of the contents of this
news release.