Roan to accelerate drying and processing of fine copper concentrate
Roan plays a key role in the Jubilee Metals’s integrated copper production strategy, processing third-party run-of-mine copper ore (ROM) into copper concentrates for further refining at the Sable refinery, while also producing high-grade copper sulphide concentrate for direct sale into the market. The Roan circuit has been upgraded over the past three years to accommodate variances in quality and consistency of third-party ROM to offer a unique solution for the recovery of copper from complex ROM sources.
The latest addition to the Roan operations is the expanded copper concentrate dewatering circuit, designed to accelerate the drying and processing of fine copper concentrate material.
This circuit was commissioned prior to the commencement of the annual maintenance period to use the opportunity to address final adjustments to the new dewatering circuit. The circuit is expected to operate at full capacity following the restart of the Roan operations.
The fines concentrate stream accounts for approximately 25.5% of the contained copper within the total ROM feed to Roan. The new concentrate dewatering circuit has demonstrated sufficient operating capacity at throughput rates above current fines concentrate production levels.
Optimisation work is focused on refining the operating parameters required to maintain stable continuous operation of the circuit under varying feed density conditions. Roan also currently holds significant stocks of fine concentrate material that has naturally dried during the current dry weather period, allowing transport to Sable to supplement any temporary interruptions in dried fine concentrate production.
The annual maintenance period for the Roan operations has successfully completed. Main activities focussed on the ROM feed circuit and maintenance of the internal pumping mechanisms of the flotation units as well as final modifications to the new dewatering circuit for the fines concentrate.
In addition, the company utilised the scheduled down time to implement key interventions to counter the sharp rise in global fuel and acid prices. Key interventions included the expansion of the copper oxide recovery circuit to further improve copper efficiencies by a targeted 5% to partly offset the near 80% increase in local fuel prices which directly impacts the transport cost associated with ROM delivered to Roan and copper oxide concentrate transported to the Sable refinery. Acid consumption and transport costs currently account for approximately 20% and 16% of monthly expenditure, respectively.
Roan has recommenced operations following the maintenance period and is operating at full capacity targeting 30 000tpm of ROM. The success of the interventions to further improve copper efficiencies will be known over the coming week as Roan’s in circuit inventory is rebuilt at stable operations. Roan holds the option to further increase throughput with the inclusion of the front-end DMS circuit which will be considered during June 2026.
The Company expects to provide a further update on copper production guidance once steady-state operational performance has been demonstrated consistently across the integrated Roan and Sable processing circuits.
