Jubilee Metals Group, one of the world’s leading metals recovery company has announce that it has started processing high-grade copper feed material at its Roan concentrator facility in Zambia, as shift from low-grade waste material it has been using to produce its copper.
Jubilee has secured an initial 200,000 tonnes of material with a copper content of approximately 1.6%, more than double the current 0.7% copper content of processed material at Roan. This marks a significant milestone in boosting production efficiency.
Payment for the copper material will be made through Jubilee’s Zambian operations, along with $2.70 million in new Jubilee ordinary shares, valued at 4.20 pence per share. As of press time, the stock was trading at approximately 4.00 pence per share.
Recovering production
Jubilee states that processing high-grade material is a strategic move to offset production losses at Roan, where prolonged power outages have hindered copper output and caused the company to miss its production targets in Zambia.
The restart comes after a new power supply agreement, enabling the diversified metals producer to resume operations at the facility and sustain production at its Sable refinery.
The company stated that higher feed grades are expected to significantly boost copper output from Roan. Following a successful operational ramp-up in November 2024, the facility now has the capacity to process up to 45,000 tonnes per month.
“Our years of investment in transforming the Roan concentrator into a facility capable of simultaneously processing both run-of-mine and waste copper material have once again been validated by our ability to opportunistically secure high-grade adjacent resources,” said Leon Coetzer, CEO of Jubilee, in a press release earlier this month.
Approximately two-thirds of Roan’s current capacity, equivalent to 30,000 tonnes per month, is expected to be dedicated to high-grade material. However, Jubilee has indicated that it will assess the feasibility of operating Roan at full capacity with this higher-grade material for an extended period exceeding three years.
Zambia strategy
Jubilee aims to replicate the success of its platinum group metals and chrome operations in South Africa by leveraging its proprietary processing technology for its Zambian copper assets. The company’s two processing facilities, Sable and Roan, are designed to achieve a combined annual capacity of 27,000 tonnes of copper.
The Sable refinery processes both historical waste rock and run-of-mine oxide copper ore from the nearby Munkoyo copper mine at a rate of 8,000 tonnes per month. Acquired from Glencore in 2019, the multi-metal refinery remained unaffected by the power outages.
“Our Zambian copper strategy remains strong, supported by a vast surface-level copper resource, two active open-pit mining operations, and a fully operational processing and refining infrastructure,” Coetzer said.
“We are exploring multiple opportunities to liquidate select non-core, lower-grade assets for value,” he added.
