Jubilee Metals says Project Roan nearly complete, finishes Inyoni PGM upgrade
Jubilee Metals Group PLC ) said the construction of Project Roan in northern Zambia is nearly complete with commissioning activities targeted to start in December, slightly ahead of schedule.
The project is targeting the production of 10,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of copper units through an integrated copper processing plant. It remains on track to start delivering copper concentrate to the upgraded Sable Refinery for further refining during the first quarter of 2022, said Jubilee.
In addition to Project Roan, Jubilee is targeting the construction of a further two copper concentrating facilities as part of its Northern Zambian refining strategy, as the company targets the delivery of more than 25,000tpa by the end of 2023.
Elsewhere, Jubilee has completed its approximately US$21mln construction and commissioning programme to upgrade the Inyoni PGM operations in South Africa. Inyoni is now able 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.
Jubilee said it retained its PGM target for the current financial period at 50,000 ounces, despite the interruptions to operations during the construction and commissioning of the upgrade programme.
“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,” said chief executive Leon Coetzer.
Yesterday, Caerus Mineral Resources PLC said it signed an 18-month extension to an option agreement with Jubilee allowing them to continue to assess the multiple waste stockpiles on Caerus’ concessions.
“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,” said Coetzer.
“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.”
