Jubilee Awarded Rights to Chromite Tailings

RNS Number : 2373F

Jubilee Platinum PLC

13 June 2012

 



AIM: JLP

JSE: JBL

Registration number: 4459850

ISIN GB0031852162                                                                                                                      13 June 2012

Jubilee Platinum PLC

("Jubilee" or the "Company")

Jubilee Awarded Rights to Platinum-Bearing Chromite Tailings

Jubilee, the AIM listed and JSE quoted mine-to-metal specialist is pleased to report that the Company has been awarded the rights to recover Platinum-group elements ("PGE"s) from high PGE-bearing dumped chromite tailings ("Dump Tailings") and chromite tailings from current and future operations ("Mine Arisings"), on the Dilokong Chromite Mine ("DCM") in the Eastern Bushveld of South Africa. This award represents a major advance in the Company's mine-to-metal strategy utilising its ConRoast process. 

This award is subject inter alia to final due diligence, the finalisation of contract and related service agreements and relevant regulatory approvals.  A further announcement will be made in due course.

HIGHLIGHTS

·     The Dump Tailings are believed to assay between 3.5 and 4.0 g/t PGEs and to contain between 90,000 and 100,000 ozs PGEs.

·     PGEs in concentrate production are projected to peak at some 12,900 oz per year when treating Dump Tailings and Mine Arisings.

·     Average revenue from PGEs over an 11-year project model is projected to be ZAR67 million per year with revenue expected to peak at ZAR97 million per year when treating both Dump Tailings and Mine Arisings.

Leon Coetzer, CEO of Jubilee Platinum commented: "This award of contract is a major advancement in the fulfilment of Jubilee's mine-to-metal strategy and will facilitate the Company's medium term mission to install its new direct current arc furnace for ConRoast.  Jubilee's ConRoast process will be ideally suited to the smelting and refining of the PGE concentrates recovered from the Dump Tailings and from other chromite ores and historic dumps of chromite waste. This illustrates the versatility of the ConRoast process." 

Jubilee has been awarded the rights to beneficiate and recover contained PGEs from approximately 800 000 tonnes of historic Dump Tailings and from approximately 8,000 up to 15,000 tonnes per month of Mine Arisings from the DCM operation. 

Under the award, the Company proposes to create a special purpose company in which Jubilee will hold an initial 67.5% interest with the option to increase its holding. Jubilee will assume responsibility for initial funding of the project, with the other shareholders' contributions being recovered by Jubilee from dividends.

Dump Tailings treatment rate is projected to peak at 20 000 tonnes per month (240 000 tonnes per year) for six years (life of Dump Tailings) and thereafter will depend on the tonnes per month from Mine Arisings.  

The Platinum  to Palladium  ratio of the contained PGEs is believed to be around 2.8 to 1, a potentially favourable ratio for the project's economics. 

The capital cost of the PGE tailings beneficiation plant (including chrome recovery) is estimated at ZAR120 million. The project offers a strong project financing opportunity to minimising the need for additional equity funding. 

Editor's note

The DCM and ferrochrome smelter operation located approximately 30 kilometres from Burgersfort and 125 kilometres south of Polokwane on the eastern rim of the Bushveld Igneous Complex is wholly owned by ASA Metals Pty Ltd, a joint venture between Eastern Asia Metals Investment Co Ltd from China and the Limpopo Economic Development Enterprise ("LIMDEV") an agency of the Limpopo Provincial Government in South Africa. Corridor Mining Resources (Pty) Ltd ("CMR") a wholly owned subsidiary of LIMDEV holds the PGE mining rights to the Dump Tailings and Mine Arisings.

Andrew Sarosi, Technical Director of Jubilee, who holds a B.Sc. Metallurgy and M.Sc. Engineering, University of Witwatersrand and is a member of The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, is a 'qualified person' as defined under the AIM Rules for Companies and a competent person under the reporting standards. The technical parts of this announcement have been prepared under Andrew Sarosi's supervision and he has approved the release of this announcement.

Contacts

Jubilee Platinum plc                          

Colin Bird/Leon Coetzer/Andrew Sarosi         

Tel [phone] / Tel [phone]

finnCap Ltd

Matthew Robinson/Ben Thompson - corporate finance

Joanna Weaving - corporate broking

Tel [phone]

Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited (Joint Broker)

Jerry Keen/ Edward Mansfield

Tel: [phone]

Sasfin Capital

Leonard Eiser /Sharon Owens

Tel [phone]

Bishopsgate Communications Ltd

Nick Rome/Shabnam Bashir

Tel [phone]

 

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