Aim- and AltX-listed Jubilee Metals Group delivered record platinum group metal (PGM) earnings for the six months ended December 31, on the back of higher output and metal prices, while its chrome operations showed their resolve, maintaining positive earnings against softer chrome prices.  

CEO Leon Coetzer said in a statement on Tuesday that the company’s multimetal strategy had demonstrated benefits across the board.

The six months under review included two transformational transactions for the company.

In August last year, Jubilee completed the acquisition of the Sable Refinery, in Zambia, which expanded the company’s operations to other geographical areas and metals.

A zinc refinery circuit was being built at the refinery, with its commissioning targeted for the second quarter of this year, while a copper refinery circuit started production in November last year.

A cobalt circuit is also expected to be commissioned during the second quarter of this year.

Moreover, in October and November last year, the transactions at Jubilee’s Inyoni operations – which involved the acquisition of all rights to about 3.33-million tonnes of historical surface material and the obtainment of full control of the feed rate at the facility – transformed Inyoni into an owner-operated facility.

Coetzer noted that the Inyoni team had delivered an exceptional performance in the six months under review, completing the recapitalisation of the feed systems over December to allow the operation to ramp up the feed, targeting 50 000 t of chrome a month.

Jubilee’s earnings increased to £8-million, or R154-million, for the six months ended December 31, a 47% increase compared with earnings for the six months ended June 30, 2019. This was largely supported by the PGM operations’ performance.

The company produced 21 082 oz of PGMs in the six months to December 31, up 82% compared with the first half of the year. The company has expanded its combined PGMs processing capacity three-fold to 170 000 t a month, but is targeting output of 6 000 oz of PGMs a month.

Jubilee also produced 186 249 t of chrome in the six months under review, which was 13% higher than output in the first half of the year. 

Meanwhile, vanadium prices have softened sharply and the company is reviewing the implementation schedule for the developed vanadium circuit.

“The design of the vanadium circuit lends itself to rapidly accelerating construction to link to the market conditions if required,” Jubilee stated on Tuesday.

The company added that it would confirm the implementation schedule for vanadium during the first quarter of this year.