Jubilee Metals Group PLC (AIM:JLP, JSE:JBL, OTC:JUBPF) generated attributable earnings of £29.5mln during the six months to 31 December 2021, as production of platinum group metals, chrome and copper continued at its operations in southern Africa.
During the period, Jubilee recommissioned on-time and in-budget the significantly upgraded and fully integrated new Inyoni PGM processing facility in South Africa.
This £17.5mln investment program enables the new integrated facility to produce up to 44,000 PGM ounces and 615,000 tonnes of additional chrome concentrate per annum, and represents a complete rebuild of the old Hernic chrome plant.
The investment in Inyoni also increases the proportion of the ounces produced that are fully attributable to Jubilee along with the associated earnings.
While all that was going on, Jubilee was able to maintain contractual obligations, with 20 316 PGM ounces sold during H2 CY2021 despite scheduled production downtime during expansion at Inyoni.
January 2022 saw monthly production levels up 66% compared with H2 CY2021. The higher production levels reflect the new Inyoni facility reaching full design capacities
Chrome earnings rose 15% to £2mln.
Meanwhile, at the Sable refinery in Zambia, copper production rose 70% to 1,314 tonnes, as part of the process to ensure operational readiness to accept first copper concentrate production from Jubilee's Project Roan.
The commissioning of Jubilee's Project Roan copper concentrator neared completion during the period with early commissioning activities commencing. The project remains on schedule to reach full production levels during the current period, targeting an annual production rate of 10 000 tonnes per annum.
Jubilee's Sable Refinery reported revenue from the sale of copper cathode of £8mln. Attributable operational earnings from Sable were £3.2mln.
"I wish to congratulate the Jubilee team for successfully completing our fully integrated, world-class, Inyoni chrome and PGM facility in South Africa, and for further delivering on our Southern Copper Refining Strategy in Zambia,” said Jubilee’s chief executive Leon Coetzer.