REG - Jubilee Metals Group - Operational Update Q1 FY2025

Jubilee MetalsAnnouncement

07/11/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 3373L  Jubilee Metals Group PLC  07 November 2024

Jubilee Metals Group Plc

Registration number (4459850)

AIM share code: JLP

Altx share code: JBL

ISIN: GB0031852162

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

 

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Operational Update Q1 FY2025

Jubilee, a diversified metals producer with operations in South Africa and
Zambia, today publishes its unaudited operational and project update for the
quarter ended 30 September 2024 (Q1 FY2025), setting a strong foundation for
meeting announced performance targets for the year and the continued success
into FY2025.

The Company has experienced impressive organic growth in its South African
operations, which are now well-established and consistently delivering strong
results. Building on the success of our South African strategy, the Company
has mirrored this approach in Zambia, where its initial focus was on the
substantial capitalisation of assets to establishing two critical processing
hubs - the Sable Refinery (Sable) and Roan Concentrator (Roan). With this
capital cycle now nearing completion, Jubilee has effectively integrated and
ramped up both its newly commissioned Front-End module and the recently
completed Flotation and Milling circuit at Roan, marking a key milestone in
delivering on its expanded copper strategy.

In addition, the Company has successfully brought both its Open-Pit operations
(Munkoyo and Project G)  into production, as well as the processing of
previously mined low-grade stockpiles at Roan to utilise the newly
commissioned copper processing footprint. Ongoing technical enhancements and
efficient operational integration are poised to drive significant further
growth in Jubilee's copper business, positioning the Company for sustained
success in Zambia's mining sector.

Highlights

Zambia

§ Excellent safety performance achieved of 580 lost time injury free
(LTI-free) days (Q4 FY2024: 488 LTI-free days)

§ New Private Power Purchase Agreement successfully concluded with stable
power commencing to all operations on  22 September 2024, ensuring a reliable
and uninterrupted power supply and meeting demands at full processing
capacity. This agreement resolves the widespread power challenges caused by
the ongoing drought which severely affected the reliability of the plants. The
agreement includes provisions for securing extra power capacity to support the
planned expansion of Sable's operations in the near future

§ Pivotal quarter for our copper operations as ramp-up targets are achieved,
establishing a solid foundation for the remainder of the year:

o  Completed commissioning at Roan: completion of commissioning and the
integration of the new Roan Front-End with the Milling and Floatation circuit
(August 2024) capable of operating as both a stand-alone and integrated
processing unit. The Roan Front-End adds significant flexibility to the
process, correcting for variability in feed quality ensuring a consistent
delivery of high-grade concentrate to the refinery and the market

o  Completed ramp-up of the Roan Concentrator:  ramp up targets were
achieved post  the delivery of stable power supply to the operations, under
the new private power purchase agreement, paving the way to exponentially
increase production in the coming quarters of FY2025

§ Roan targets a stable run rate of 75 000 tonnes of feed per month (tpm) for
the first three quarters of operation before increasing to 90 000 tpm of feed

§ Initial copper recovery from feed is targeted at 55% which equates to an
equivalent copper production rate of 6 200 copper tonnes per annum (tpa) or
7 400 tpa of copper at the increased 90 000 tpm from Roan alone

§ Copper recoveries are expected to increase to more than 70% with the
introduction of on-site leaching at Roan (H1 FY 2026) which equates to 9 500
to 13 000 tpa of copper from Roan depending on the feed grade

o  Ramp-up of open pit mining resources to fully utilise expanded processing
footprint

§ Munkoyo Open-Pit mine operations successfully ramped up to achieve a
targeted 100 000 tonnes of mined run-of-mine (ROM) for October 2024, with 250
000 tonnes mined during Q1 FY2025

§ Newly acquired Project G (October 2024) commences operations and produces
first copper concentrate for refining at Sable on target

§ Project Phoenix and Project L commenced operations and achieving targets to
maintain Roan's initial feed rate of 75 000 tpm of upgraded previously mined
material

§ Two further Open-Pit mining operations are being targeted with commercial
trials of bulk samples scheduled for refining at Sable during Q3 FY2025

§ The Company maintained copper production during the quarter despite the
severe power interruptions while commissioning and ramp-up of Roan meeting
expectation for the quarter with the production of  744 tonnes of copper
units in final product

§ In addition, the in-process stock contained in ROM and partially processed
material accelerated to 3 538 tonnes of contained copper (metal units) for
further processing

A production target of 1 800 tonnes of copper units is set for H1 FY2025
ending December 2024, increasing to approximately 4 200 tonnes for H2 FY2025
ending June 2025, which totals approximately 6 000 tonnes of copper for the
full year based on current assumptions.

South Africa

§ South Africa reported a LTIFR rate of 2.09 (Q4 FY2024: 1.62)

§ Chrome concentrate produced increased by 8% to 455 381 tonnes (Q4 FY2024:
421 698 tonnes), exceeding targeted production for the quarter

§ 6E Platinum Group Metals* (PGM) produced for Q1 FY2025 reached 9 328oz (Q4
FY2024: 7 828oz), which is on guidance

§ Jubilee's chrome operations have delivered outstanding performance,
surpassing the quarterly targets with exceptional results

o  The Company is reviewing half-year guidance which will inform the
full-year guidance figure

§ The new chrome processing modules built at Thutse remain on track to
contribute significantly to the second half production output with
commissioning underway at both modules

*  6E PGM - Platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium and gold

Production guidance for FY2025

§ Copper: Guidance remains on track with the successful ramp-up at Roan and
Munkoyo as the Company expects to deliver significantly increased copper
production for the remainder of the financial year, to reach production
guidance of between 5 850 and 7 500 tonnes

§ Chrome and PGM: On-track to achieve chrome concentrate production guidance
of 1.65 million tonnes, and PGM  production guidance of 36 000oz. Chrome
guidance will be reviewed at half year

Statement from Leon Coetzer, Jubilee CEO:

"I am pleased to report significant progress in the first quarter of FY2025,
where we have successfully achieved key milestones in advancing our copper
strategy, while our chrome and PGM operations continue to perform strongly.

In Zambia, we have made considerable strides to establish a solid foundation
for our anticipated growth in copper production. The commissioning and ramp-up
of both the Roan and Munkoyo projects have been completed, setting the stage
for substantial increases in output.

Despite facing several hurdles along the way, including the country-wide power
crisis, we have navigated these challenges and emerged stronger. Our copper
business is now positioned for exceptional growth, with two fully operational
processing plants at Roan and Sable, complemented by the successful
implementation of the Munkoyo and Project G Open-Pit copper mines.

Looking ahead to the remaining three quarters of FY2025, I am confident that
we will continue with executing on our copper growth strategy, while
maintaining the momentum of our successful South African operations."

 

Zambia

Quarterly Production results

The table below presents the unaudited operational production performance of
Zambia for Q1  FY2025:

 OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE            Q1 FY2025                   Q4 FY2024                             % change
 COPPER
 In process stock
  Copper in process stock   DMT            442 308                              -                     100%
  Grade                     Tcu%    0.80%                                       -                     100%
  Copper units              tonnes             3 538                            -                     100%
 Production
  Copper                    tonnes             744**                       1 048                      (29.1%)

** limited run time during Q1 linking to Roan ramp-up and power outages

The Company's Zambian copper processing operational footprint now encompasses
the Roan Front-End module with its mill and flotation circuit, collectively
referred to as the Roan Concentrator, and the Sable Refinery, which is
currently being upgraded for a combined in-country copper capacity in excess
of 25 000 tpa. With the capital cycle of the processing footprint now nearing
completion the Company is shifting its focus to the expansion and ramp-up of
its copper resources to take-up the expanded processing footprint.

Roan Concentrator

The commissioning and integration of the newly constructed Roan Front- End
Module was successfully completed during August 2024 with full ramp-up of
operations achieved post the delivery of the new private power offtake
agreement as announced on 7 October 2024. The Front-End Module is capable of
operating as a stand-alone unit or as an integrated processing unit together
with the existing Roan Milling and Floatation operation. This adds tremendous
flexibility to the Roan operation capable of successfully addressing
fluctuations in feed quality to ensure the production of a consistent high
grade copper concentrate for either further refining or direct trade into the
market.

The upgrade enhances Roan's processing capacity to a combined maximum of 13
000 tpa of copper, depending on feed grades (assuming a feed grade of 1.55%
copper and run rate of 90 000 tpm).

The integrated Roan facility targets an initial stable feed rate of 75 000 tpm
of material over the first three quarters of operation, with the potential to
increase to a feed rate of 90 000 tpm thereafter. An initial copper recovery
of 55% copper in feed is targeted before the introduction of leaching at Roan
which is expected to increase copper recoveries to in excess of 70%. This
translates to an initial copper unit production from Roan, prior to leaching,
of approximately 520 tpm of copper with the potential to increase to 670 tpm
assuming the lower feed rate of 75 000 tpm is maintained. Roan's capacity
remains dedicated to the processing of previously mined material.

Sable Refinery

In line with Jubilee's ongoing resource expansion in Zambia, the Company is
upgrading Sable to serve as a dedicated facility for processing materials from
Open-Pit mining operations, including the recently acquired Munkoyo and
Project G. The upgrade is currently in progress and is expected to be
completed during Q2 FY2026.

The successful acquisition of these targeted resources has enabled Jubilee to
transform Sable into a specialised refiner focused on shallow Open-Pit mining
operations.

Munkoyo

Munkoyo commenced operations in July 2024 and was successfully expanded to
achieve its monthly targeted 100 000 tonnes of mined material for October 2024
with a total of 250 000 tonnes mined during Q1 FY2025.

Of the total mined material, 5 000 to 10 000 tpm is trucked directly to Sable
at a targeted minimum grade of 2.5% copper which is expected to increase to
3.5% copper from Q3 FY2025. The remainder of the mined ROM is stockpiled for
future processing at site with the first large scale leaching trials to
commence at site during December 2024.

Total inventory increased to 3 538 tonnes of copper units from mining and
processing activities.

Project G

Following the completion of Jubilee's due diligence on Project G during August
2024, the Company acquired a majority interest in Project G under revised
terms increasing its holding to 65% from the original 51%. Project G targets
to commence full operations and delivery of pre-concentrated ROM to Sable by
December 2024.

The project aims to expand existing operations to achieve an initial mining
rate of 10 000 tpm by February 2025. Project G includes an on-site facility
designed to pre-concentrate mined ROM material, with an immediate capacity to
produce 3 000 tonnes of copper concentrate per month, containing 10% to 15%
copper. Lower-grade copper will be stockpiled for future on-site processing.
First copper concentrate was produced at Project G during October 2024.

Large Scale Waste Rock Project

The project targets the processing of the approximate 260 million tonnes of
previously mined material through a dedicated processing footprint resembling
the new Roan facility. The Company is currently focussed on the completion of
the extended industrial trial of approximately 15 000 tonnes of material to
confirm the project engineering and commercial assumptions. The results from
this extended trial are seen as the final due diligence requirements for the
project to confirm the participation of it partners Industrial Resources
Holdings. A due diligence extension to end January 2025 has been requested to
allow sufficient time to compile the results from the trial.

 

South Africa

Quarterly Production results

The table below presents the unaudited operational production performance of
South Africa for Q1  FY2025:

 OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE          Q1 FY2025                   Q4 FY2024                   % change
 CHROME AND PGM
 Production
  Chrome                  tonnes         455 381                     421 698              8.0%
  PGM                     Oz                 9 328                       7 828            19.2%

 

The Company has experienced continued growth in its South African operations,
which are now well-established and consistently delivering strong results.
Chrome operations increased output to 455 381 tonnes for Q1 FY2025 on the
back of improved efficiencies while PGM production benefited from better
quality feed to produce 9 328 ounces.

Construction of the two new chrome processing modules at Jubilee's Thutse
operations has been completed with commissioning of both modules underway. The
on-time addition of the two new operational units is expected to contribute to
the H2 FY2025 production profile and the potential for an upward adjustment of
the chrome guidance will be reviewed once the performance of the units is
confirmed.

 

7 November 2024

 

For further information visit www.jubileemetalsgroup.com
(http://www.jubileemetalsgroup.com) , follow Jubilee on Twitter
(@Jubilee_Metals) or contact:

Jubilee Metals Group PLC

Leon Coetzer (CEO) / Jonathan Morley-Kirk (FD)

Tel: +27 (0) 11 465 1913  / Tel: +44 (0) 7797 775546

Nominated Adviser - SPARK Advisory Partners Limited

Andrew Emmott/James Keeshan

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3368 3555

PR & IR Adviser - Tavistock

Jos Simson/ Gareth Tredway

Tel: +44 (0) 207 920 3150

Joint Broker - RBC Capital Markets

Farid Dadashev/Jamil Miah

Tel +44 (0) 20 7653 4000

Joint Broker - Zeus Capital

Harry Ansell/Katy Mitchell

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

JSE Sponsor - Questco Corporate Advisory Proprietary Limited

Alison McLaren

Tel: +27 63 482 3802

 

About Jubilee Metals Group Plc

 

Jubilee is a low-cost, diversified producer, specialising in the recovery and
processing of metals from previously overlooked resources, such as unprocessed
historical waste rock, run-of-mine materials and tailings in Zambia and South
Africa. The Company's low-capex, modular processing facilities are deployed
close to these various types of material, producing high grade concentrates
for sale or further refining to finished metal at the Company's downstream
facilities. Production currently consists of copper, chrome, and platinum
group metals (PGMs). The modular processing facilities offer a platform for
growth and the rapid expansion of Jubilee's operational footprint in Zambia
and South Africa. Jubilee's success is derived from operational and technical
excellence, an experienced management team and a pioneering Technical
Development Centre.

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