Member Info for Jonah58

Rather surprisingly, they quote the Capex for a 20 ktpm module as just under a half that of a 50 ktpm module (about $3M). I would have expected economies of scale. Given the quoted recovery for 1.5% grade material (2,000 tonnes per annum), our unit costs for Cu production ($5,281) and the current price of copper ($8190), the payback time for a 20 ktpm module is measured in months.

Also, we did start producing some copper from Sable before Roan came online. I am not sure if that local material has run out or not, but it could be contributing to the modest guidance.

Come on, BT. Was it a late night?! The modules produce an oxide concentrate, Sable refines it. They are complementary. Sable is an electrowinning refinery, so it can't cope with the sulphides from Roan processed material, so that is being sold separately. The new presentation is perfectly clear about this.

We don't know just what the tailings is going to produce, but there will be plenty of cobalt from Mufulira if it all works. This will require a separate refining option. Maybe at Mopani and Seis has also pointed out the possibility of Chambishi (currently mothballed). This is all for the future. The last RNS emphasised that we are going to be extra cautious about our capital allocations!

Mickie, there does appear to be a more upbeat sentiment in the markets recently but who knows if it will last. Depends on China, I guess. Personally, I’m looking for a suitable ledge to jump off following the tanking of my SAV investment (dodgy activities in high places!) Not to mention military coup in Gabon (WBI). Don’t call me Jonah for nothing.

Edzi, I too have an incomplete understanding and you will probably get the best response from Seis and Northern (who was at the AGM0. However, this is my take.

Roan was originally planned to process tailings and run of mine ore and I guess that will continue to be the case. But it seems that the emphasis now is on processing waste rock (not tailings) comprising weathered oxides from the transitional reef. My understanding is that this material had to be mined to get to the richer sulphides below, but was discarded because it was uneconomical to process the low grade of copper it contains (1 to 2.5%). For this reasons there is simply millions of tonnes of this stuff lying around at surface. Jubilee claim to have developed a recipe for extractng this copper economically and the primary focus of Roan will be to roll this out. My guess is that the process involves some sort of 'fine copper' analogous to our fine chrome operation. Two different types of concentrate will be produced, with one going to Sable and the other sold directly to the market. The large number of modules being banded about is testimony to the mutiple small arstisanal mining outfits in Zambia. I think it is no coincidence that Ricus Grimbeek has a track record of interest in such operations.

With regard to tailings, there are the huge dumps we have bouught into some time ago and the Mufulira furnace sl ag which will involve a JV with the new owners of Mopani. We have been researching various techniques for unlocking value here for a while. My understanding is that the Draslovka hook-up is specifically for the Mufulira material, with the processing of other stuff only as an added bonus. My guess is that the grades in the tailings are pretty low so anything that can reduce the cost of extraction is going to pay dividends and GlyLeach promises to do just that. Like you, I thought we had an ongoing plan to process the huge dumps at Kitwe etc and I remain unsure what we are going to do with that material. Up till now, I have assumed that plans have been on hold until we have some certainty about what refining capacity is going to be available. News on that could drop soon (see Seis's posts) and then things might become clearer.

12. Thutse: On time, in budget.

It's worth noting the following:

1. DCM Chrome plant: on time, in budget

2. DCM Fine chrome: on time, in budget (subsequently moved to Inyoni. No problem)

3. Hernic: Slightly late, in budget.

4.Sable: Producing copper within months of purchase. Cobalt circuit ready. Refinery ready for increased copper feed.

5. Windsor: on time, in budget

6. Windsor 8: on time, in budget.

7. Hernic upgrade: slightly late, in budget.

8: Roan: delayed, then water/power issues and damage to infrastructure.( I accept this as a failure. I also accept it is not a perfect world and problems with major engineering projects are very common)

9: Resolution of power/water problems provides opportunity to re-think and redesign Roan. New schedule publicised.

10. Revised Roan: approximately 2 months behind schedule.

11. Copper tailings project currently chugging along in the background (I was expecting more from this, I admit)

Our company has a very good recent track record of delivering engineering projects efficiently. Some posters seem to imply that changing tack and revising your approach is tantamount to some implicit irredeemable failure. I call it thinking on your feet which is how this company survived in the Power Alt/ferrochrome days and why it will continue to survive when a multitude of other AIM companies don't.

We are primarily a platinum producer and the basket price is on its knees. Copper has yet to fulfill the optimistic predictions. We are currently reliant on chrome whose price, we know, is fickle. There is war, recession, plague and Chinese slow down. People are looking for safe places to hide their money. You don't need a high IQ to work out why the SP has dropped to about double its previous low point. You certainly don't have to infer any inherent fatal flaw in the company. Three quaters of the world's platinum producers will have to be trading at a loss before we start losing money on our PGM business.

No Mickie. It's just me getting in a muddle, which is easy enough with all these things going on.

Thanks Northern. That's more or less as I thought, but it's very good to have the detail spelled out. Once again, I really appreciate the feedback from people who took the trouble to attend the meeting.

I am sure you're right Mickie. I suspect it would be very difficult to protect IP such as our fine chrome process by patent because we are not doing anything strictly new - just using what's available to the best effect. Our modular approach is ideal for small to medium outfits who will be happy to exchange a share in the profits for us funding all upfront processing costs and doing all the work right through to concentrates. Large producers will obviously go it alone and I would be very surprised if they don't copy our ideas. Good for them!

First player advantage here is huge. We won't corner the whole market (we wouldnt be able to), but if the 20 modules plays out, and that seems a long way off at the moment, then a vast opportunity opens up. The caveat, of course, is that we are the mercy of metal prices.

PS Can you check your figures for copper production per module? They look optimistic!

Gotreal, the Kashytu zinc deposit is only a few Km from Kabwe, which can quickly switch between Zn and Cu, so I don't think Galileo would be interested in Mufulira/Mopani from that perspective BUT they are also prospecting historic copper workings at Luansobe which is only 17 km from Mufulira. They have a small scale license and are targetting, initially, low to medium grade oxide ore. It would be a nice fit, but they have a way to go before anything materialises!

Interesting post Data. Sable has, historically, alternated between zinc and copper and your comments about zinc are relevant. I have taken my eye off Kashytsu. Is it coming into production? Sable will be pretty tied up with copper plus or minus cobalt in the short term, I guess, but it is a long way from Roan. If/when we get a northern refinery there may well be capacity at Sable for zinc and I am aware of the previous tie up.

Thanks Chester. Much appreciated. I'm glad you asked about Kabwe. In my mind, the long term outlook for Sable still involves the processing of this material - much will depend on the price of zinc.

With regard to cobalt, I have already posted how I think the cobalt price will drive the Mufulira project. Even at today's low price, there is about 1 billion dollars' worth of cobalt tied up in the dump, and the grades are very good. It all depends on what economies the GlyLeach brings to the table. Draslovka claim 20% to 50% so the results of the 500 tonne batch trials are going to be very interesting.

Brilliant stuff, Northern. Very much appreciated.

I don't think that's right, Maximus. The modules are for the physical separation and concentration of ROM ore or historic virgin ore that was previously deemed uneconomical to process. The glycine leach technology is being tried out on tailings. The modular growth will continue and (hopefully) proliferate independantly of the outcome of the glycine trials. We have claimed a breakthrough in the processing of transitional ore. My guess, as posted previously, is that this is related to our expertise in getting the most out of chrome ore using our fine chrome technology.

Guidance was 3000 tonnes, Butter. So underperformance was 77 tonnes (approx 2.4%). Hardly big time, don't you think?

Sorry not to be at the cafe/AGM. Influx of visitors + new grand daughter from far away excludes travel to London from the North. Coffee's on me next year (if I can afford it). Looking forward to hearing your views about what was said and what was not said. Also interested in the what you make of the mood and general vibes from board members. Thanks for making the effort on everyones behalf.

You are right (this time) Bushy. I don't have a good track record on AIM and would definitely have done better to put it in a tracker fund - though much less fun!

Can I add a PS to my last post. The word here is cobalt. GlLeach is great for cobalt and the grades at Mufulira are exceptional. And what was that comment re DRC all about?! Pity the Chinese are making batteries without cobalt, but I think the Europeans will. My guess is that the future of the Mufulira project is tied up in the price of cobalt. Time, as usual, will tell.

Hi Buttermilk. Can I take you up on this comment from your post:

"Like a drug addict living in denial JLP realized they can not do it on their own(maybe they were forced). Draslovka might be the company that can cure JLP, but only the future will show."

This seems to me a bit small minded - mean, even. We have signed an exclusive partership deal, but your comment seems to imply that we are bringing nothing to the table and, in effect, this is a Draslovka bail out. So what do the respective parties bring?

Draslovka brink an exciting new technology (GlyLeach) which they have patented. But it is still in the demonstration phase at industrial level. Also it is highly unlikely that a 'one recipe fits all' approach will work with complex tailings. They have little engineering credentials. They are proudly announcing a base metal leaching demonstration in Australia of 600 tonnes of material.

Jubilee brings our unrivalled ability to grade tailings by physical separation bringing them to the leach pad in an optimal condition. We have all the research in scaling up the process ongoing in the northern strategy and our previous research on leaching sulphides done at Sable. We are experts at designing industrial flow sheets, oh, and I almost forgot, we bring thirteen million tonnes of tailing 0.7% copper, 0.27% cobalt. This looks like a very exciting synergism to me, not in any way a bailout.

I am lucky to have sold most of my holding here at about 19p (not because I am canny, which I'm not, but by luck I just happened to need the money at that time). My interest in this company now extends beyond day by day, or even month by month, fluctuations in a fickle share price. I am interested in what we can achieve and with Draslovka we are entering unknown territory which could be a blin alley, I accept, or could be absolutely mega!

Asterisks = www.r e s e a rc h-t r e e.com