REG - Jubilee Metals Group - Copper and PGM Projects Update

Jubilee MetalsAnnouncement

17/11/2021 07:05

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RNS Number : 6046S  Jubilee Metals Group PLC  17 November 2021

 

 

Jubilee Metals Group PLC

("Jubilee" or the "Company")

Registration number (4459850)

AltX share code: JBL

AIM share code: JLP

ISIN: GB0031852162

 

Dissemination of a Regulatory Announcement that contains inside information
according to REGULATION (EU) No 596/2014 (MAR). Not for release, publication
or distribution in whole or in part in, into or from any jurisdiction where to
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jurisdiction.

 

Jubilee Metals Group PLC

("Jubilee" or the "Company" or the "Group")

 

Copper and PGM Projects Update

 

Jubilee Metals Group PLC, a leader in metals processing with operations in
Africa (AIM: JLP/Altx: JBL), is pleased to provide an operational and
corporate update on its copper projects in Zambia, specifically Project Roan,
and its Inyoni PGM project in South Africa following a period of significant
progress.

 

Highlights

 

Copper Projects

 

·    Construction of Project Roan targeting the production of 10 000
tonnes per annum through the integrated copper processing plant in northern
Zambia, is fast nearing completion with commissioning activities targeted to
commence during December CY2021, slightly ahead of the anticipated timetable
and notwithstanding international freight and logistics challenges experienced
globally

·    Project Roan remains on track to start delivering copper concentrate
to the upgraded Sable Refinery during Q1 CY2022

·    In addition to Project Roan, Jubilee is targeting the construction of
a further two such copper concentrating facilities as part of its Northern
Zambian refining strategy, as the Company targets the delivery of in excess of
25 000 tonnes of copper per annum by the end of CY2023

·    On the back of positive results from the preliminary work undertaken
at the Troulli Copper Project in Cyprus, coupled with the fact that Caerus
Mineral Resources Plc ("Caerus") has successfully increased its prospective
rights, which offers the potential of greater scale to the project, Jubilee
has reached an agreement with Caerus to extend its Option Agreement for a
further 18 months, with both parties working towards a possible joint venture
during Q1 CY2022

·    Jubilee is planning to upscale its engineering team in Cyprus as it
advances its test programme at the Troulli Project.

 

PGM Projects

 

·    Jubilee has completed the approximate US$21 million construction and
commissioning of the extensive upgrade capitalisation programme of the Inyoni
PGM Operations. The upgrade programme has significantly enhanced Inyoni's
processing capability by providing the flexibility to process a wide variety
of third party PGM feed materials making it one of the only large scale PGM
plants capable of processing blended ores

·    The capitalisation programme was undertaken over an 11-month period
and included a chrome recovery circuit together with a new feed blending and
classification circuit with a significantly expanded PGM recovery circuit with
the capability, based on its design, to process up to 75 000 tonnes per month
of chrome and PGM rich material.

·    Inyoni is now uniquely positioned to capitalise on the variety of PGM
feed materials offered to the market

·    Jubilee's PGM operational target for the current financial period
remains at 50 000 PGM ounces, despite the interruptions to operations during
the construction and commissioning of the upgrade programme

·    Jubilee continues to review the available options to expand its
processing footprint into South Africa's Eastern Limb of the Bushveld Complex
PGM-bearing region

 

Leon Coetzer, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "Further significant
progress has been made over recent months at both our South African and
Zambian operations, as well as outside the African continent, with the
collaboration with Cyprus based Caerus Mineral Resources.

 

"Our implementation team at Project Roan has successfully navigated the
various challenges faced due to the impact of the Covid pandemic and its
knock-on effect on international logistics and freight movement and
construction activities. The state-of-the-art copper concentrator which will
be able to produce both a copper oxide and a copper sulphide rich concentrate,
and following some reprioritisation of the commissioning schedule, is nearing
completion with staggered commissioning activities set to commence in December
2021, targeting the first commercial production during March 2022. Owning 100%
interest in the Southern Refining Strategy, which incorporates the Sable
Refinery and Project Roan, captures all of the earnings potential and total
flexibility, putting us in a very strong position going into 2022.

 

"I am particularly pleased at the completion of the capitalisation and
commissioning programme at our PGM operations which has transformed the
operation from originally implemented to only process the historical tailings
from the then Hernic Ferrochrome, to now been able to target the processing of
a variety of PGM feed materials.  This follows our success in securing vast
quantities of PGM tailing materials through long term offtakes in the Eastern
Limb earlier this year, solidifying our presence in the region. It gives me
confidence that we will secure further long-term feed supplies and operational
presence driving our sustained earnings in South Africa.

 

"Very telling of 'the Jubilee Way' is our reputation outside of the African
sub-continent. The extended Option Agreement with Caerus demonstrates the
recognition of Jubilee's international brand and the results from the initial
project review are encouraging and we are looking forward to continuing to
work with the Caerus team, with the potential to further the partnership and
benefit to Jubilee stakeholders in the future."

 

Zambian Copper Projects Update

 

Having already achieved early earnings, the roll out of Jubilee's copper and
cobalt strategy offers the potential of significant continued earnings growth
in addition to the achievements of its PGM and chrome operations.

 

The Sable Refinery, which is fully operational, acts as a central processing facility for third party material in the region in addition to providing refining access to Project Roan for the refining of the copper concentrates.
 

As previously announced, during CY2020 Jubilee entered into joint venture
agreements to secure rights to process over 300 million tonnes of copper and
cobalt containing tailings in Zambia. The copper and cobalt tailings are
located in three central locations named Project Roan, Project Lechwe and
Project Elephant.  Jubilee has a set target to expand its access to refining
capacity, to achieve a targeted 25 000 tonnes of copper units per annum.

 

Project Roan, which targets an annual production rate of 10 000 tonnes of
equivalent copper units, entered its construction phase during H1 CY2021. The
state-of-the-art copper concentrator, which will be able to produce both a
copper oxide and a copper sulphide rich concentrate, is nearing completion
with staggered commissioning activities set to commence within three weeks
targeting the first commercial production during March CY2022.

 

The project team consistently demonstrated their tenacity to overcome the
challenges brought on as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, which caused havoc
with delivery and construction schedules of imported equipment, due to
international freight disruptions.

 

The Company is looking forward to commencing with the commissioning of the
first of our targeted three copper concentrators on our path of delivering
25 000 tonnes of copper per annum.

 

Global Project Strategy

 

Jubilee's approach to the research and development of copper waste and
tailings projects is not limited to any particular region or country and
Jubilee's success to date has created a recognisable international brand. To
this extent, Jubilee announced on 4 May 2021 its collaboration with Caerus to
undertake thorough metallurgical test work in relation to the processing of
copper and gold surface-based waste and tailings materials located in Cyprus.

 

The results from Jubilee's initial project review have delivered encouraging
results and the Company has concluded to allocate more resources to the
project, including its in-country presence.  In line with the decision,
Jubilee has reached an agreement with Caerus to extend its Option Agreement
for a further 18 months to complete, amongst other things, a review of the
Troulli - Kokkinapetra Project in Cyprus, particularly given that Caerus has
successfully increased their prospective rights offering greater scale to the
Troulli Project.

 

PGM Projects Update - South Africa

 

Jubilee's PGM operations consist of the Inyoni and Windsor JV PGM
operations.

 

Historically, Jubilee's Inyoni Operations were largely focussed on the
processing of historical tailings stockpiled at the operations. The financial
distress suffered by Hernic Ferrochrome Pty Limited, that ultimately resulted
in the sale of its business in late 2019, highlighted the risk of the
dependency of the PGM operation on such a single source feed stream, to
creating a long-term sustainable operation.

 

The Company took the decision in Q4 2020 to significantly enhance the Inyoni
operation to form a PGM processing facility that offered the flexibility to
process a wide range of PGM feed and tailings materials under PGM Supply
Agreements from a variety of clients. The Company set out to establish a
uniquely positioned processing facility targeting the wider industry.

 

The capitalisation programme and commissioning of the new enhanced Inyoni
facility has been completed totalling approximately US$ 21 million and
offering a new feed blending and classification circuit and significantly
expanded PGM recovery circuit, with the capability, based on its design, to
process up to 75 000 tonnes per month of chrome and PGM rich material.  The
project required intricate planning to commission the upgraded facility within
an operational environment, while ensuring the safety of our people.  Despite
the disruptions to the operations during the expansion, the Company continues
to target the production of 50 000 PGM ounces for the current financial
period setting a solid foundation for achieving its 55 000 PGM ounces target
on a sustainable basis.

 

As announced earlier this year, Jubilee's PGM operational footprint has been
largely focused on the Western Limb of the Bushveld Complex, a single area of
the two main PGM areas in South Africa.  The Eastern Limb has been a key
focus to expand its PGM reach and operational capacity. A number of the PGM
Supply Agreements entered into give access to this area, offering a platform
to Jubilee to pursue further growth opportunities.

 

 

**ENDS**

For further information visit www.jubileemetalsgroup.com
(http://www.jubileemetalsgroup.com)   or contact:

Jubilee Metals Group PLC

Colin Bird/Leon Coetzer

Tel +44 (0) 20 7584 2155 / Tel +27 (0) 11 465 1913

Nominated Adviser - SPARK Advisory Partners Limited

Andrew Emmott/James Keeshan

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3368 3555

Broker - Shard Capital Partners LLP

Damon Heath/Erik Woolgar

Tel +44 (0) 20 7186 9900

Joint Broker - WHIreland

Harry Ansell/Katy Mitchell

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7220 1670/+44 (0) 113 394 6618

 

JSE Sponsor - Sasfin Capital (a member of the Sasfin group)

Sharon Owens

Tel +27 (0) 11 809 7500

 

PR & IR Adviser - Tavistock

Jos Simson/ Gareth Tredway/Charles Vivian

Tel: +44 (0) 207 920 3150

 

PR & IR Adviser - St Brides Partners

 

Notes to Editors:

Jubilee Metals Group is a diversified metal recovery business with a
world-class portfolio of projects in South Africa and Zambia. We create value
for all stakeholders through the transformation of mining liabilities into
profitable assets in a manner that addresses mining's historical footprint and
improves the quality of life for surrounding communities. Our distinguishing
value proposition is our net positive impact on all stakeholders and the
environment.

Our business model focuses on the retreatment and metals recovery from mine
tailings, waste, slag, slurry and other secondary materials generated from
mining operations. In effect, while extracting maximum financial returns, we
responsibly rehabilitate environments scarred by the surface footprint of
historical mining operations and solving air and water pollution issues
associated with those installations.

The Company's expanding multi-project portfolio provides exposure to a broad
commodity basket including Platinum Group Metals ('PGMs'), chrome, lead, zinc,
vanadium, copper and cobalt.

Jubilee is listed on the London Stock Exchange's AIM (ticker: JLP) and the
Johannesburg Stock Exchange (ticker: JB).

 

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