London- and Johannesburg-listed Jubilee Metals Group has met its production targets for the financial year ended June 30, after having completed its capitalisation and expansion programme.
Over the past 18 months, the company implemented a £58-million capital expansion (capex) project to acquire and refurbish processing facilities in South Africa’s Bushveld Complex and in Zambia.
In South Africa, Jubilee in March completed the construction and ramp-up of the 45% expanded Inyoni operation. This has enabled the operation to accept multiple types of feed sources, with an annualised capacity of 44 000 oz of platinum group metals (PGMs) and a combined 1.2-million tonnes of by-product chrome concentrate.
In Zambia, the fully integrated Southern Copper refining strategy was delivered with the completion of construction of the new Roan copper concentrator. Commissioning and ramp-up of the concentrator started in July and it reached nameplate throughput rates in September.
Jubilee reports that the capex project contributed to it producing 41 586 oz of PGMs, 1.22-million tonnes of chrome and 2 604 t of copper in the financial year under review.
Further, the investment has resulted in a 40% increase in Jubilee’s tangible net asset value per share to 4.84p for the financial year under review.
CEO Leon Coetzer says the financial year was a transformative one for Jubilee.
“The team has delivered a significantly expanded and further diversified operational footprint. We overcame a number of challenges to execute a highly complex capex programme and established a solid foundation in our pursuit of becoming a global leader in processing and retreating historical mine waste and perceived waste, while growing responsibly.
"At the core of the Jubilee story, something I am most proud of, is that the solution we offer allows us to not only clean up environmental liabilities such as tailings deposits but, in parallel, treat third-party mine feed that ordinarily would be headed to a waste dump.
"The future holds tremendous potential growth for our company as it benefits from the foundation laid during the period [under review],” he comments.
Incoming chairperson Ollie Oliveira agrees that a strong growth platform has been created for the group.
"Beyond delivering on the medium-term plan of executing the Northern Copper Refining Strategy, in Zambia, and continuing to expand our operational footprint, we have also focused our attention on addressing improved governance at the board level and the strengthening of risk management along with all the other controls that need to be present in a company that has grown as fast as Jubilee has over the past few years," he adds.
Meanwhile, in addition to the strong operational performance, Jubilee also reported good financial results, with revenue 5.4% higher year-on-year at £140-million. The company also settled its long-term debt of £5.3-million.