Jubilee Metals’ platinum group metals 6E (PGM 6E) production in South Africa dropped to 8 339 oz in the third quarter of the fiscal year (FY) 2024 compared to 10 131 oz in the second quarter of FY2024, mainly due to reduced available stock of lower grade feed material.
It said the year-to-date (nine months to 31 March 2024) PGM 6E production was 3.6% lower at 28 583 oz compared to 29 645 oz for the comparative period.
However, Jubilee posted a record chrome production of 408 710 tonnes in the third quarter compared to the preceding quarter's output of 381 114 tonnes, despite being a quarter traditionally known for lower production rates due to the January holiday period.
Its year-to-date chrome concentrate production increased by 19.2% to reach just above 1, 1 million tonnes compared to 944 832 tonnes a year earlier.
“Our South African chrome operations have delivered an exceptional performance, setting new record production levels for both the quarter and our monthly output for March 2024,” said Jubilee chief executive Leon Coetzer.
“The team’s performance speaks to our renowned technical and processing capabilities supported by the modular expansion approach. The processing efficiencies underpinning this performance continue to offer additional growth opportunities in this sector.”
The company said its chrome and PGM production guidance remains unchanged at 1.45 million tonnes of chrome concentrates, and 40 000 to 42 000 PGM 6E oz for the current financial year ending June 2024.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
