Jubilee Metals said its expanded Roan copper concentrate facility is near completion, with the ramp-up of dewatered fine copper concentrate production underway since the start of April 2026.
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Jubilee Metals Group,, the JSE and London-listed copper and resource development company in Zambia, made strong progress in delivering its copper strategy in the nine months to March 31, CEO Leon Coetzer said on Wednesday.
He said in an operations update that the Roan copper concentrator plant had sustained targeted production rates, and the expanded concentrate circuit was now entering ramp-up after minor technical and logistical delays.
Total saleable copper production increased by 28.7% to 2,177 tons. Roan production increased to 1,999 tons of copper units (Cu), a 112.7% increase from the comparative period a year earlier.
Coetzer said their copper production guidance for the 2026 year is under review, based mainly on the updated Molefe Mine plan, following completion of the phase 1 drilling program, and the fast-tracking of the expanded stripping program to enlarge Pits 2 and 3 into a single large open pit, which is expected to be completed by July 2026.
There had also been a short delay in the commissioning and ramp-up of the expanded concentrate dewatering circuit at Roan, which delayed the step-up of the expected additional Cu units from Roan. Commissioning is near completion, with targeted production expected during this month.
Roan produced 779 tons of copper units in oxide concentrate fines for the period. Production of copper units in oxide concentrate fines had only commenced in August.
Sable Refinery production came to 957 tons of copper cathodes for the period, well up from the 751 tons at the same time last year.
Commissioning of the expanded Roan concentrate facility was near completion, with the ramp-up of dewatered fine copper concentrate production underway beginning this month.
The circuit is currently operating at approximately 75% of the targeted production rate of 110-120 tons per month of contained copper units.
The dewatering circuit has a design capacity of about 230 tons per month of contained copper, enabling the simultaneous processing of the historical stockpile (14,000 tons) and additional production of fine Cu concentrate at a rate of 110-120 tons per month of Cu.
Molefe Mine operations continued to expand, with 250,162 tons of ore mined during the period (181,890 tons for H1 FY2026), of which 20,064 tons (9,130 tons) were transported to Sable Refinery at an average Cu grade of 1.84%.
The accelerated stripping program to expand Pits 2 and 3 into a single open pit mine was progressing and likely to be fully completed by July 2026.
During April 2026, more than 250,000 tons of pre-stripping material were removed as part of the stripping program, which will support increased delivery of Cu run-of-mine to the Sable Refinery once completed.
The remaining tons would continue to be stockpiled at Molefe Mine for future on-site processing prior to refining at Sable Refinery..
Jubilee’s share price gained 4.69% to 67 cents on Wednesday afternoon, although the volatile but thinly traded share was priced at 79 cents a year before.
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