Jubilee said in an operational update Tuesday they planned to step up this to 8,500 tpm by August, and to reach 10,000 tpm by October 2026, which would then equate to more than a 100% increase in ROM deliveries to Sable.
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Jubilee Metals Group, the JSE-listed copper producer in Zambia, said its Molefe Mine’s delivery of high-grade run-of-mine (ROM) to the Sable refinery had increased to a targeted 6,000 tons per month (tpm) this month.
Jubilee said in an operational update Tuesday they planned to step up this to 8,500 tpm by August, and to reach 10,000 tpm by October 2026, which would then equate to more than a 100% increase in ROM deliveries to Sable.
“The recommencement of ROM deliveries from Molefe Mine to the Sable refinery marks a significant milestone in the expansion of Jubilee's Zambia copper strategy and demonstrates the rapid progress being achieved at Molefe Mine under the updated mine plan,” said CEO Leon Coetzer in the results.
He said Molefe Mine was evolving into a cornerstone asset in their mine-to-metals platform, with the operation on track to achieve meaningfully increased production over the coming months.
He said the integration of Pits 2 and 3, together with the ongoing pre-strip program, positioned Molefe Mine for sustained growth while enhancing feed flexibility to the Sable refinery.
“Importantly, Molefe Mine represents the first implementation of Jubilee's scalable copper growth model in Zambia. Our strategy is to mine while we explore, expanding both production and the resource base simultaneously,” Coetzer said.
“Through the addition of on-site ore sorting, future processing capabilities and district-wide resource expansion, we are establishing a blueprint that we believe can be replicated across multiple copper opportunities within the region.”
He said the next development phase would focus on on-site ore sorting and processing to support better segregation of higher grade ore with improved copper recovery and overall project economics. There would also be resource definition drilling activities expanding across the greater Molefe district, and additional exploration properties.
“Molefe continues to validate Jubilee's scalable mine-to-metals copper growth strategy for replication across Zambia,” said Coetzer.
He said the first ROM had been delivered following the initial stripping activities under the updated mine plan.
The accelerated pre-strip program, which started in April 2026, remained on track for completion during July 2026 and was aimed at supporting increased sustained production and improved feed supply to the Sable refinery.
Development work to integrate Pits 2 and 3 into a single enlarged open-pit operation continued to progress well.
The updated mine plan had been optimised to target a broader reef package, enabling the extraction of increased copper volumes across both high and medium-grade material.
“Upon completion of the pit integration and development programme, Molefe is expected to ramp up from approximately 12,000 tons per quarter of high-grade ROM to in excess of 30,000 tons per quarter of high-grade copper reef ore delivered to Sable,” said Coetzer.
The production ramp-up profile includes both newly mined ROM and strategic stockpiled material as Molefe transitions toward integrated on-site ore sorting and processing capabilities of both the high grade and lower-grade ROM.
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