Jubilee Selects $35 Million Preferred Buyer for Zambia’s Large Waste Project
Jubilee Metals Selects $35M Buyer for Zambia Large Waste Project to Fund Copper Expansion
Jubilee Metals Group has selected a preferred buyer for its Large Waste Project (LWP) in Zambia in a transaction valued at $35 million, as the copper producer shifts its investment focus towards expanding its existing operations.
The Johannesburg- and London-listed integrated copper and resource developer said the preferred buyer was selected after receiving two binding offers for the large-scale greenfield project earlier this month.
Jubilee plans to use proceeds from the sale to accelerate investment in its existing Zambian operations, which it considers a lower-capital and lower-risk route to increasing copper production.
The LWP is a major greenfield development that would require significant standalone capital to bring into production.
Jubilee has therefore opted to monetise the asset rather than commit further capital to its development.
The proposed transaction will now proceed through a two-stage due-diligence process.
The first stage will focus on confirming the contractual and regulatory legal framework governing the LWP and is expected to take approximately 10 days.
If that stage is completed satisfactorily, the preferred buyer will pay Jubilee $2.25 million to secure a further 45-day exclusivity period during which it will complete the remaining due diligence.
The sale remains subject to satisfactory completion of the due-diligence process and the signing of definitive transaction documents.
The $35 million consideration will not be paid entirely upfront. Following completion of the transaction, the outstanding amount will be settled over an agreed three-year instalment period.
The buyer will also have the option to accelerate payment and settle the consideration within two years.
However, exercising that option would reduce the total purchase price from $35 million to $30 million.
The sale forms part of Jubilee’s strategy to concentrate capital on its established Zambian assets rather than undertaking another large-scale greenfield development.
The company has identified its existing operations, including the Molefe Mine, as a lower-risk pathway for expanding copper production. Jubilee has been working towards establishing an on-site copper processing facility at the expanded Molefe operations.
The strategy allows the company to build on infrastructure and operations already in place while limiting the additional capital and execution risks associated with developing the LWP as a standalone project.
The Large Waste Project comprises approximately 240 million tonnes of copper-bearing surface material left behind by historical mining activity. Jubilee had been evaluating processing options to recover copper from the material.
The company acquired the project for $18 million, making the proposed $35-million transaction a substantial premium to its acquisition cost.
The proposed sale also replaces an earlier agreement covering the sale of 10 million tonnes of waste material for $6.75 million.
Approximately 550,000 tonnes had been collected under that arrangement, generating about $600,000 in payments to Jubilee.
Jubilee said it is satisfied with the preferred buyer’s ability to complete the proposed acquisition, although the transaction remains subject to the outstanding due-diligence and documentation requirements.
The sale, if completed, will provide Jubilee with additional capital to advance its existing Zambian copper assets while transferring responsibility for developing the capital-intensive Large Waste Project to a new owner.
