Jubilee Platinum PLC (LON:JLP) has acquired another sizeable mound of platinum-bearing tailings in South Africa.
Just days after agreeing deals for copper tailings in Australia and a chromite ore supply deal at Dilokong, its other operation in South Africa, Jubilee has bought 1.25mln tonnes of tailings close to its Hernic mine operation.
Leon Coetzer, chief executive, said: "I am particularly pleased with this acquisition.
“At stable operations the combined projected output from our projects is now targeting 50,000 oz PGMs per year from tailings resources, which do not attract the burden and risk of hard rock mining.”
The new surface material is graded of 2.7 g/t 4E PGMs (platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold) and will 14 000 oz PGMs annually to Jubilee's existing PGM production from tailings and third party processing.
Coetzer added these grades were exceptional compared with other similar material while the location was within trucking distance of its Hernic project's PGM processing plant. Even so Jubilee is mulling building a dedicated PGM plant at the new dump.
The acquisition cost is £3.13 (R50) per tonne for the platinum remaining an initial removal of chromite.
Approximately 79% of the surface material is estimated to remain following chromite removal, which equates to a 4E PGM acquisition value of £3mln (R49.4 mln).
The agreement allows for a two-stage payment to vendor PlatCro over three months once the agreement is signed off.
Financing for the acquisition is through a placing at 5p to raise £3.3mln.