On Saturday morning, March 14, a rock fall occurred at a depth of just over 1,100 meters in the Garpenberg mine. As a result of the slide, a pressure wave occurred that hit four employees in nearby locations. All were taken to hospital for treatment. In addition, two additional employees have sought medical attention for a check-up. All six are now back home. The Garpenberg mine normally has seismic activity, but later on Saturday evening, the seismic activity increased to abnormal levels, which prompted a decision to evacuate the mine in its entirety for safety reasons. Mine production ceased in connection with the mine being evacuated, while production in the concentrator continued until Sunday, after which this production was also stopped for planning reasons. The seismic activity has not yet returned to a level where inspections of the mine can be carried out. Production at the mine will gradually resume after the inspection of infrastructure and mining positions has been completed, however, the timing of this cannot be determined at this time.

For further information, please contact:

Klas Nilsson

Director Group Communications

+46 70 453 65 88

[email protected]