Jubilee Metals Group PLC (LON:JLP), the AIM and Altx traded international metals processing company, today announced that the joint venture PGM recovery plant targeted for the recovery of the PGM rich material owned through its subsidiary Windsor SA (“Windsor PGM Project”) has successfully been commissioned and is fully operational. The Project produced 1, 346 PGM ounces in its first operational month of August 2019.
The Windsor PGM Project which holds 1.45 million tonnes of chrome and PGM-rich material at surface with further current arisings being added, offers the potential to more than double Jubilee’s existing PGM production and significantly enhance the Company’s earnings.
Operational & Projects Highlights
· Commenced operations in July 2019 initially targeting low grade PGM material to complete commissioning of the PGM Plant before commencing processing of higher grade PGM material during the last week of August 2019
· The Project has processed 70,077 tonnes of feed material, producing 1,346 PGM ounces for the month of August 2019 which has been on-sold to a third party refinery
· To date, Jubilee has delivered 468,779 tonnes of feed material to the PGM Plant with September 2019 targeting the processing of 60,000 tonnes and the production of 2,200 of saleable PGM ounces
· The grinding circuit and final flotation recovery circuits have successfully been brought on-line during August 2019 which will further enhance efficiencies
· The positive pricing environment for PGMs further increases the economics of this low cost PGM Project
* 6 Element Platinum Group Metals including platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, osmium and gold
Leon Coetzer, Chief Executive Officer, says:
“With the Windsor PGM Project reaching its full operational status we have reached yet another significant milestone as we continue to grow and diversify our earnings base.
The Project holds the potential to double our existing PGM production delivering enhanced earnings without any capital burden or time delay associated with the construction of a new PGM recovery plant. I am particularly excited by the early results achieved during the commissioning phase utilising our tailored processing solutions, which support our expectation to achieve a consistent minimum throughput of 60,000 tonnes per month with the potential to deliver approximately 2,500 additional low cost PGM ounces to the Group per month.
“Bringing Windsor PGM into full operation has been a strong team effort with our JV partner. The JV structure and terms, which incorporate a fixed processing cost with associated earnings share, ensures that both parties are incentivised to maximise PGM recoveries and operational efficiencies.
“Following the completion of our acquisition of Sable Zinc Kabwe during August 2019, adding copper, vanadium, zinc and lead to our commodity basket, we are consistently delivering on our strategy of diversifying earnings across multiple commodities and jurisdictions. We have an exceptional technical and project execution team that allows us to take advantage of a distinct opportunity of recovering metals from mine waste. Our market is truly international and with an established portfolio being developed we are on course to build a global metals recovery business.”
The Project
Jubilee commenced operations at Windsor PGM in July 2019 ahead of completing commissioning of the PGM Plant, in tandem with the Company’s JV partner, and commencing the production of higher grade PGM material during the last week of August 2019. This Project has the potential to double the Company’s current PGM ounce production over the life of the Project. Jubilee is targeting PGM processing at a rate of 60,000 tonnes of feed material per month with the potential to produce approximately 2,500 PGM ounces per month.
A total of 70,077 tonnes were processed to end August 2019, producing 1,346 PGM ounces. Jubilee has delivered 468,779 tonnes of PGM rich material to the PGM Plant as of the end August 2019. The full PGM Plant has been fully commissioned which includes the grinding circuit and both the primary and secondary recovery circuits, which are expected to enhance the PGM extraction efficiencies.
The Windsor PGM Project, being a surface processing plant, facilitates the responsible processing of historical waste dumps for the recovery of metals at a low cost. It is part of Jubilee’s wider project located in the Western Bushveld Complex, where the Company is already processing chrome at Windsor Chrome, one of South Africa’s largest chrome recovery facilities. The Company has a distinct expansion plan aimed at utilising its team, diversifying commodity and jurisdictional exposure to build cash flow and maximise the international opportunity particularly with the increasing environmental obligations faced by mining companies.
