Jubilee Metals Group PLC (LON:JLP; Altx: JBL), a leader in diversified metals processing, with operations in Africa, has provided an update on the chrome joint venture in South Africa as well as an update on the expansion of its Roan Concentrator (“Roan”) in Zambia.
Strategy and growth projects
PGM and chrome expansion
· Successful upgrade, implementation and commissioning of an existing brownfield processing facility, on the western limb of the Bushveld Complex, has now been completed reaching targeted operational output.
· As announced on 6 June 2023, the long-term chrome processing partnership provides the potential for additional chrome processing capacity of 360 000 tonnes per annum targeting an additional 200 000 tonnes of chrome concentrate and adding an additional 10 000 PGM oz per annum to Inyoni’s profile.
· The expansion of the chrome operations comes at an opportune time with supportive chrome prices and strong market support further extending operating margins:
o A total of 24 500 tonnes of newly produced final chrome product already traded and on track to trade an additional 17 000 tonnes of metallurgical grade per month
o Expected to contribute an additional 60 000 tonnes of chrome concentrate for the half year ending Dec 2023 and 4000 PGM oz.
· The Company is in advanced discussions to conclude its next partnership agreement targeting an additional 600 000 tonnes per annum processing capacity.
Copper
· Roll-out of copper expansion strategy in Zambia progressing ahead of schedule with all long lead items secured for Roan upgrade:
o Delivery of equipment and on-site assembly scheduled to commence in early September 2023.
o Commissioning remains on track to commence in October 2023.
o At completion, Roan will hold the unique capability to process a variety of ROM and waste sources.
o Jubilee has secured an additional 6-year Copper ROM supply at Roan on the back of the targeted expansion of the operations. The ROM supply agreement targets the supply of a minimum of 2% total Cu grades of previously mined material.
o The new ROM supply will form the base load material to be processed through the upgraded front-end of Roan and account for approximately 60% of the stated capacity at Roan.
o The new modular designed Roan front-end, offers the opportunity, similar to the chrome business model, to rapidly deploy satellite modular units to upgrade remote feed sources for further refining.
· Results from the Northern refining process trials which were initiated to understand the extent of the waste and non-traditional ore opportunities, delivered encouraging results, exceeding expectations in copper recoveries achieved from historical tailings materials.
o The process trials, a culmination of 3 years of research and development, targeted the use of a low capital-intensive solution to produce a high-grade copper concentrate for further refining.
o The results achieved motivated the decision to immediately commence with the implementation of a bulk semi-commercial pilot facility at the Luanshya tailings facility which will be completed over the next 12 weeks.
o Results from the pilot trials, which target feed batches of approximately 500 tonnes at a time, will be used to confirm the design assumptions on scalability of the process flowsheet and to confirm final plant unit sizes. The bulk pilot facility is a critical final step towards confirming the design detail for the large-scale operational solution.
Statement from Leon Coetzer, Jubilee Metals CEO:
“Our chrome production units form a vital part of the South African business’ profitability and cost competitiveness, especially at a time when chrome prices are particularly strong, and this largely offsets the weakness in the PGM basket price. The strength and robustness of our diversified metal focus is best demonstrated during such volatility in metal prices where both chrome and copper are seeing strong price support, offsetting the weakness in both PGMs and cobalt.
“The expansion of our chrome operations intends to take advantage of price support in the market for chrome, coupled with our continued strong operational performance.
“The upgrade of our Roan concentrator forms a vital link to the processing solution for the much larger Northern Refining solution and sets a new standard in the processing of mixed copper ores in Zambia. The upgrade incorporates both the technical developments and lessons learnt from our South African operations as well as key breakthroughs in the processing of these weathered ores that many regard as too complex and reject the material as waste.
“I am particularly excited by the results achieved from our Northern Refinery trials. The copper recoveries exceeded our expectations and confirmed the potential of the process route that we are developing. This process solution offers tremendous potential to deploy a low-cost efficient copper processing solution for the vast historical tails in Zambia.
“We have agreed to immediately progress with the implementation of a bulk pilot facility to confirm scaling of the process as a key input into the design of our large-scale process facility. Results from the pilot trials which targets feed batches of approximately 500 tonnes at a time will be used to confirm the design assumptions on scalability of the process flowsheet to confirm final plant unit sizes.
“Jubilee is on an exciting growth path both in South Africa on the back of its proven operational success, as well as in Zambia reaching the completion of the in-depth development work for the design of our copper tailings processing solution. I look forward to providing further updates as the project reaches completion and I am excited about the potential it offers Jubilee.”
