Jubilee Metals is pushing ahead with a more aggressive development plan at its Molefe copper project in Zambia. The company is trying to secure more of its own copper feed, lift mining rates and support steadier use of its processing assets.
The updated plan combines Pits 2 and 3 into a larger open pit. Jubilee expects this to improve stripping efficiency and increase the amount of copper-bearing material it can mine each quarter. During an initial four-month development period, the group plans to remove about 400,000 tonnes of overburden. Once that work is complete, copper reef mining capacity is expected to rise from 15,000 tonnes per quarter to 60,000 tonnes per quarter.
Jubilee is not only expanding activity at Molefe. It is building a mine plan that can feed more material into its wider copper system in Zambia. The ore body itself also supports that plan. Jubilee said the revised mining approach targets a wider copper reef package averaging around 1.4% total copper to surface. That gives the company a larger near-surface zone to work with and improves flexibility as it decides how best to process the material.
Jubilee plans to use automated ore sorting to separate high-grade and medium-grade material. High-grade ore is expected to go directly to the Sable refinery, while medium-grade ore will be treated on site before refining. The company is linking resource ownership, mine planning and refinery feed into one chain, which could improve consistency and support margins if execution goes to plan.
Jubilee Metals Group plc (LON:JLP) is a diversified and leading metals recovery business with a world-class portfolio of projects in Zambia.
