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(Alliance News) - Jubilee Metals Group PLC on Tuesday said it has started the ramp-up of operations at the Sable Refinery site in Zambia, after successfully producing export grade cobalt product.
The London-based metal processing company will now begin commercial production of cobalt, targeting an an initial production rate of 50 tonnes per month of contained cobalt metal for the next three months. This is equivalent to 220 tonnes of final product.
Jubilee Metals will then step up to a targeted capacity of 100 tonnes per month, gradually ramp up production to achieve its goal of 1,200 tonnes of contained cobalt metal per year, equivalent to 5,280 tonnes of final product.
The milestone follows a much larger development project at Jubilee's Northern Refining project in Zambia. The company said that the cobalt production at Sable had the potential to significantly contribute to overall earnings, with targeted margins at capacity expected to exceed 45%.
The first sales of cobalt product are expected to begin from the end of December.
Jubilee Metals also noted that Sable has successfully commissioned the direct leaching and refining of copper sulphide material.
It said that by doing so, Sable has successfully bypassed the traditional power intensive, smelting process used by the industry for the refining of copper sulphide materials, significantly expanding its own processing capability.
"With such a large resource secured, the north offers the potential to far exceed the original stated production target of 15,000 tonnes per annum of copper. A key next decision for the implementation of the north is to lock in the capacity of the north refinery which sets in motion the final design capacities for the concentrators that supplies the refinery with concentrated copper and concentrate materials," said Chief Executive Officer Leon Coetzer.
"With the now proven processes in the South, the Company expects to receive the final recommendation on capacities from its design teams by mid-January 2023."
Jubilee also noted the impact of Zambia's water and power infrastructure challenges on the newly commissioned Roan concentrator, which is part of its southern copper refining strategy.
Water infrastructure at Roan is due to be upgraded in the first week of December, while power constraints experienced have since been resolved "satisfactorily".
Jubilee Metals shares were trading 7.5% higher at 10.90 pence each in London on Tuesday morning.
By Holly Beveridge; hollybeveridge@alliancenews.com
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