Jubilee Metals' Roan copper concentrator in Zambia achieves operational success

Jubilee Metals Group’s Roan copper concentrator in Zambia is fully operational following an upgrade, exceeding July’s targeted production by reaching 384 tons of copper units.

The mining group, which aims to become a significant copper explorer, miner, and producer of concentrates and refined cathodes in Zambia, stated in an update on Wednesday that Roan’s production in August was already above the targeted production rate of 350 tons.

The Roan project, first announced by Jubilee in 2021 and upgraded in phases, is the cornerstone of the company's copper production ambitions alongside the Sable refinery.

Jubilee is currently disposing of its South Africa-based chrome and platinum operations, with agreements in final form, and a shareholders' meeting is being scheduled soon. Jubilee's share price sank 5.4% to 70 cents on the JSE on Wednesday afternoon.

“I am pleased to report significant progress across our Zambia portfolio, which has all the assets we need to maintain momentum on our copper expansion strategy,” said Jubilee’s CEO Leon Coetzee in a statement.

He said that they were building a robust copper production profile by dedicating processing capacity at Roan to a combination of third-party sourced mined material and process tailings, while advancing the Munkoyo and Project G mining operations to feed an expanded Sable refinery.

In addition, the Large Waste project is forging ahead, and the group’s copper exploration footprint is being expanded.

The Munkoyo and Project G mines are being developed to be the anchor source of copper material for cathode production at Sable. Further large-scale exploration properties have been secured, Coetzee said.

Munkoyo consists of a series of nine open-pits, and resource drilling is underway to establish the potential of combining these pits into one large open-pit operation.

The Large Waste tailings dump is understood to contain over 240 million tons. A review of the total surface stock portfolio was done. A monetisation program is underway to sell the lowest-ranking non-core tailings assets, with about an $18 million deal value already transacted over the past six months.

Munkoyo’s open-pit operation's drilling program has started, with an initial eight holes completed in partnership with a mining and exploration company. Drilling results are being reviewed, and early indications suggest potential to combine pits 2 to 4 into a single large open pit to offer increased mining flexibility and throughput.

Discussions are in progress with a partner to further expanded Munkoyo and develop Project G while undertaking an exploration program of the new exploration properties.

Jubilee’s copper production for the first half was impacted by power and infrastructure challenges, and Roan was placed under care and maintenance. Following a successful Roan restart, copper unit production reached 757 tons in the second half, with annual production reaching 2 211 tons versus the guidance for the 2026 financial year of 5 100 tons.

Further capital-dependent projects either underway or targeted to start next year could potentially increase annual copper production by about 10,000 tons. Coetzee stated that the energy-related challenges faced earlier this year helped them emerge with a clearer, more focused strategy backed by secure power supply and higher-value material supply agreements. 

Sable is undergoing an expansion to offer an annual processing capacity of about 14 000 tons of copper units upon completion, which is anticipated in the first quarter of next year.

Mining at Munkoyo was temporarily halted for July and August 2025 while the extended pit design was completed based on the drilling results, and ore delivery to Sable is set to recommence in September 2025. On the Large Waste project, Jubilee plans to roll out a series of 25,000 tons per month modular processing units on-site, based on the design at Roan. 

BUSINESS REPORT