Jubilee successfully completes first cobalt production runs from waste
Jubilee Metals Group PLC, a leader in diversified metals processing, with operations in Africa announces its six-month operations update for the period ending 31 December 2022 (H1
FY2023) and an update to its Zambian copper and cobalt strategy.
Copper production was down 10% on the previous six months to 1 149 tonnes with in-process stock from processed material at Roan increasing to approximately 830 tonnes of contained copper.
Overall production fell below the targeted 3 000 tonnes of copper for the period, with the Zambian operations suffering severe disruptions due to country wide power outages that resulted in prolonged down-times and damage to plant and equipment which impacted its ability to operate as intended and effectively.
Jubilee has taken decisive corrective action to invest a further approximately US$2.5 million to end January 2023 to address and overcome the infrastructure challenges which has delivered an upgraded privately owned water infrastructure, further upgraded power infrastructure with additional secured power and replacement of damaged equipment.
The upgraded and expanded water and power infrastructure at Roan now offers the potential to more than double the capacity of the existing 780 000 tonne per annum processing capacity.
At Sable, Jubilee successfully completed the first cobalt production runs from waste. The success of the trials has motivated the further expansion of the cobalt circuit to increase cobalt production from waste and offers a buffer to the impact on Group earnings from reduced copper production.
Leon Coetzer, CEO, commented: “Our ability to leverage off our multi-commodity production capability has been vital in being able to deliver the operational performance and resultant revenues and earnings. We aim to continue to maximise this multi-metal production flexibility and therefore benefit from the cumulative earnings potential it provides.
“At our operations in Zambia, the impact of nationwide power shortages has been more acute, and we have taken bold steps to not only overcome the immediate challenges faced by operations, but also to actively update the implementation strategy of our copper and cobalt expansion. Through a concerted joint effort between the Jubilee teams and the Zambian authorities, we have been able to alleviate the immediate impact of power outages on our operations through the implementation of a new power management plan, while adapting our copper and cobalt expansion strategy to better align with available power and water infrastructure.
“The updated, expansion implementation plan, offers the potential to accelerate the increase of copper and cobalt production at an initial lower capital outlay, by increasing our existing operational footprint in Zambia to fully utilise the available infrastructure, compared with an initial targeted Greenfields expansion.
“At the Roan concentrator, the large available surface area and upgraded water and now power infrastructure, now offers the potential to expand operations at Roan by establishing it as a concentrator hub for projects associated both with the Northern and Southern copper refining strategy. The expansion of Roan therefore offers the opportunity to accelerate the roll out of our operational footprint at the nearby Northern Refining projects.
“Based on the initial review of our technical teams, Roan can be expanded in phases to more than double its current capacity, while avoiding a complete shutdown of operations to accommodate the full upgrade. The initial phase will expand and upgrade the material handling and classification circuits, to accommodate the simultaneous processing of copper tailings and copper containing ROM material, which immediately facilitates the implementation of the first Northern linked refining project at Luanshya, and the supply of further third-party ROM material.
