POG.L Regulatory News (POG)

25 March 2019

Petropavlovsk PLC

Repayment of Temporary Bridge Loans by IRC

Further to the announcement made on 19 March 2019, regarding the successful refinancing of the outstanding loan between IRC Limited ("IRC") and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd ("ICBC"), Petropavlovsk PLC ("Petropavlovsk" or the "Company"), announces that it has received the Rouble equivalent of approximately US$57 million as full repayment of the two bridge loans advanced by Petropavlovsk to IRC during 2018. In addition, a guarantee fee of US$6 million is in the process of being paid by IRC to the Company, with a further US$5 million payable by IRC no later than 31 March 2020.

Dr Pavel Maslovskiy, CEO, comments

"I am pleased to inform shareholders that the Company is in receipt of c.US$57 million, comprising the full repayment of the bridge loans. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all sides involved in bringing the refinancing to a successful conclusion.

We also note the announcement made by IRC on 21 March, stating that although the anticipated 2018 headline profit has been affected by a non-cash adjustment, the underlying performance of the business improved significantly in 2018, resulting in increases in both IRC's revenue (+39% year-on-year) and EBITDA (+42% year-on-year). The improvement in the performance of IRC is attributable to the ongoing successful ramp up at the K&S iron ore mine, which, in the second half of February 2019, operated at an average production capacity of 86%, up from an average of 70% achieved during the final quarter and the year 2018."

Enquiries

For more information, please visit www.petropavlovsk.net and www.ircgroup.com.hk or contact:

Cautionary note on forward-looking statements

This release may include statements that are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms "believes", "estimates", "plans", "projects", "anticipates", "expects", "intends", "may", "will" or "should" or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, plans, objectives, goals, future events or intentions. These forward looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts. They appear in a number of places throughout this release and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Group's intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things, the future price of gold, the Group's results of operations, financial position, liquidity, prospects, growth, estimation of mineral reserves and resources and strategies, and exchange rates and the expectations of the industry. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances [outside the control of the Group. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and the development of the markets and the industry in which the Group operates may differ materially from those described in, or suggested by, any forward- looking statements contained in this release. In addition, even if the development of the markets and the industry in which the Group operates are consistent with the forward looking statements contained in this release, those developments may not be indicative of developments in subsequent periods. A number of factors could cause results and/or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements including, without limitation, general economic and business conditions, demand, supply and prices for gold and other long-term commodity price assumptions (and their effect on the timing and feasibility of future projects and developments), trends in the gold mining industry and conditions of the international gold markets, competition, actions and activities of governmental authorities (including changes in laws, regulations or taxation), currency fluctuations (including as between the US Dollar and Rouble), the Group's ability to recover its reserves or develop new reserves, changes in its business strategy, any litigation, and political and economic uncertainty. Except as required by applicable law, rule or regulation (including the Listing and Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules), the Group does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Past performance cannot be relied on as a guide to future performance. The content of websites referred to in this announcement does not form part of this announcement.