FIRST QUANTUM PROVIDES UPDATE

TORONTO, March 24, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Quantum Minerals Ltd. ("First Quantum" or the "Company") (TSX:FM) today announced that its production and sales remain stable in the current environment and maintains its production guidance for the year.

“Our key priorities are the health of our employees and to ensure the business remains robust in the midst of a challenging commodity price environment,” stated Philip Pascall, CEO. “We are doing everything we can to care for our staff, their families and the communities around us in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also our responsibility that we continue our contribution to the economies of the countries in which we operate and supply the products on which our customers depend. We will continue to operate our mines responsibly, providing employment and generating revenues, and we will ensure that our business withstands this period of downturn.”

COVID-19 update

Several members of the contractor workforce at the Cobre Panama operation have been confirmed as having contracted the COVID-19 virus. The affected personnel are being cared for in the public healthcare system as per the Panama Ministry of Health requirements. Cobre Panama has already implemented the appropriate control, isolation and quarantine measures in line with Government guidelines and its site-specific conditions. On Friday March 20, the Government of Panama by means of Executive Decree 500 clarified that Cobre Panama is specifically authorized to continue operating, albeit with strict adherence to the protocols established by the Ministry of Health which will require a reduced labour force operating on 12 hour shifts.

Similarly, on other mine sites the Company is prepared for control, isolation and quarantine as necessary. As more countries take action to manage and mitigate the impact of COVID-19, First Quantum is managing the necessary country-by-country restrictions in order to assist in the protection of those most vulnerable.

Production and sales

The Company has not experienced any significant disruption to sales, supply chains and product shipments since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Company’s production and cost expectations as previously guided remain current [see Company release dated January 9, 2020].

Year-to-date operations in Zambia have been slightly better than expected with good grades and recoveries within the mixed and sulphide ores at Kansanshi and improved mining volumes and ore grades at Sentinel. Following the announcement of heightened restrictions in South Africa, including controls on ports and transit routes, the Company is managing the export of its Zambian production through alternate routes.