Metals processing company Jubilee Metals, whose share has more than quadrupled over the past two years, says investment in its processing capacity is already paying off, with monthly production up two thirds in January compared to the last six months of 2021.
The London and JSE-listed group recommissioned the upgraded Inyoni platinum group metals (PGM) facility in November, saying in an update on Tuesday it had met its contractual obligations in the six months to end-December, when Inyoni was only partially operational.
The £17.5m (R377m) upgrade has boosted capacity 46.66% to 44,000 PGM ounces per year, which has been integrated with a new chrome plant that has increased processing capacity of chrome ore and tailings by a similar percentage, to 250,000 tonnes per month.
Jubilee, valued at R7.9bn on the JSE, is a tailings retreatment specialist company, with assets in PGMs and chrome in SA, as well as copper, cobalt, and other base metals in Zambia. The group recovers PGMs from chrome waste.
The group said on Tuesday attributable earnings fell 38% to R388.6m to end-December from the prior year period, with the group delivering 20,316oz of PGMs, down 28%.
Chrome concentrate production was up 41% to 609,734 tonnes from the prior six months, with Jubilee adding that the PGM discard from the new chrome plant had been stockpiled for later reintroduction into the new integrated facility.
“The Jubilee team has displayed exceptional commitment and ingenuity by implementing on-time and in-budget the complex integration of the newly constructed chrome plant, with a fully upgraded and expanded Inyoni PGM circuit,” CEO Leon Coetzer said.
“The safety of our team was paramount during this complex project with the full project delivering without a single lost time injury to any member of our team, all while continuing to operate certain sections of the facility to maintain contractual commitments for the delivery of PGM ounces,” he said.
The group is listed on the alternative exchanges of the JSE and in London. It has steadily grown its chrome and PGM business in SA over recent years and made two acquisitions in 2019, adding the Inyoni chrome and PGM business, as well as the Sable refinery in Kabwe, Zambia, to advance its metal diversification and spread its geographic risk.
The group said the average PGM basket price realised per ounce sold fell 35% over the period, the first half of its 2022 financial year, but showed a strong recovery towards the end of the year, which was sustained during January.
Chrome prices continued to be volatile during the period due to supply-chain disruptions, Jubilee said. “These price fluctuations are expected to continue over the next six months as the world emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic and supply and demand fundamentals are better matched,” it said.
Update: February 8 2022
This article has been updated with additional information.
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