Jubilee Metals share price rose more than 6% in intraday trade on Monday after the group announced developments that will expand its copper production capabilities.
The diversified metals producer, which has operations in SA and Zambia, said it had completed the Roan upgrade and had acquired two operational open-pit copper mines.
The company said the Roan upgrade was a critical component of its integrated copper strategy, which aimed to increase copper production and enhance the company’s processing capabilities in Zambia. The upgrade includes installing new equipment and modifying existing infrastructure to increase capacity and reduce operating costs.
The company said the acquisition of the two mines would boost its copper resource base and support the expansion of the Sable refinery to target 16,000 tonnes per year of copper.
CEO Leon Coetzer said: “The Roan upgrade together with our Sable refinery offers Jubilee tremendous processing flexibility and affords us the unique opportunity to pursue copper resources that are unlocked by this capability aggressively.
“The strategic acquisition of the two open-pit operations is an example of our ability to leverage our process capability to secure significant near-surface copper resources already in operation.”
The company said the mine acquisitions and the Roan Upgrade positioned Jubilee for growth in copper production, which was on track to meet the company’s revised copper guidance of 3,250 to 4,000 tonnes.
In addition, the company said it was pursuing three groups of copper resources to grow its copper portfolio and drive the expansion of its processing and operational footprint in Zambia.
The three groups of copper resources are “tailings and partially processed discarded low-grade materials”, “stockpiled low-grade material” and “near-surface copper reef accessible through open-pit mining”.
Jubilee Metals’ share price firmed 4.9% to R1.69 in afternoon trade.
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