Updates from Jubilee Platinum PLC’s (LON:JLP) platinum tailings projects in South Africa have become steadily more upbeat
While still at an early stage, chrome plant feed rate capacity is now 65 tons per hour (tph) Jubilee said, exceeding design capacity by 30% while trials have indicated a production rate of double design capacity.
Sales of chrome concentrate so far have also generated R4.1mln or £188,000 from 3,000 tonnes. The aim is for monthly production to rise to 8,000 tonnes by June.
“Platinum now becomes the next key focus of the project,” said Leon Coetzer, chief executive.
“The project is consistently exceeding the enrichment targets for platinum, increasing the value of this stream and drawing the interest of a number of established platinum producers looking to accelerate the production of a saleable platinum product."
Platinum the aim
Jubilee’s expertise was traditionally in smelting and the two major tailings projects aim to utilise this.
The plan sounds straightforward enough. The original owners were only interested in the chrome, with the platinum either lost or trapped within the tailings.
Jubilee has access to a process (Conroast) that can release this and unlock the trapped precious metals.
First tailings will be from ASA’s Dilokong chromite mine (DCM) in South Africa, with plants at major ferrochrome producer Hernic’s tailings dumps a little further down the road.
Ambitions are significant
Jubilee’s concentrator plants will be capable of producing up to 15,000oz of platinum group metals with a longer term ambition to reach 50,000oz through access to near-surface chromite reefs.
ASA’s dumps at Dilokong contain an estimated 1.1mln tonnes of chrome tailings.
Hernic, meanwhile, has 1.7 mln tonnes of tailings, of which 90% is classified within the measured category.
There is a further potential 1.6mln tonnes that needs some additional drilling.
Finance in place
Funding for both construction of projects was tied up in March, with a US$17.5mln package of up to US$15mln of senior and unsecured debt and US$2.5mln of equity finance from a placing at 2.8p per share.
RiverFort Capital arranged the debt, which is being advanced in stages with US$3mln.
As the reported revenues indicate, the chromite recovery section of the first plant, 25,000 tonnes per month, is already up and running, while the long lead items for the second plant also bought, Jubilee said in March.
Coetzer added: "The DCM (Dilokong) team and plant continues to outperform the original design numbers as the project starts to generate its first revenues.”
Other projects
While the tailings plants will be the focus for the near future, Jubilee does have other irons in the fire.
The 63%-owned Tjate project on the eastern limb of the Bushveld Complex imay contain the world’s largest undeveloped defined block of platinum ore but a mining permit is still needed and holding up plans here.
There is also a nickel tailings opportunity in Western Australia and the early stage Ambodilafa project in Madagascar.
Share price mirrors upbeat newsflow
As the news flow has gathered momentum so has Jubilee’s share price, which has more than doubled over the past twelve months.
That included a healthy spike when the latest update from the platinum projects was announced in May
At 3.28p , the AIM-listed junior is now valued at £32mln.