Aim-listed Jubilee Metals has reported a strong nine months to March 31 for its South African operations, putting the division on track to exceed performance targets for the financial year to end on June 30.

Jubilee notes that chrome concentrate production for the third quarter of the financial year was up 10.7% year-on-year to 452 561 t.

Year-to-date production for the nine months to March 31 reached 1.43-million tonnes, up 26.7% from 1.13-million tonnes for the comparative nine months of the prior financial year.

Jubilee says the new chrome processing modules built at the Thutse chrome processing facility, in the North West, are expected to contribute significantly to the production performance of chrome during the remainder of the financial year.

“I am pleased with the solid set of production numbers that our well-embedded South African operations have produced for both the March quarter and also the first nine months of the financial year.

“The successful implementation of the Thutse project, in partnership with the resource owner, has increased the original chrome concentrate guidance by 12% to 1.85-million tonnes for the [full] financial year,” says CEO Leon Coetzer.

Jubilee’s previous guidance was for 1.65-million tonnes of chrome concentrate production for the full year.

Meanwhile, Jubilee’s South African platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium and gold platinum group metals (6E PGM) production increased by 34% year-on-year to 11 171 oz for the March quarter.

Year-to-date PGM production reached 29 606 oz, up 3.6% from the 28 583 oz produced in the comparative nine months of the prior financial year.

The production guidance for PGMs has increased to 38 000 oz for the full-year, compared with the previously guided 36 000 oz of 6E PGMs, on the back of Jubilee’s Inyoni plant continuing to operate at full capacity and a partnership agreement with an undisclosed PGM producer, signed earlier this month, to start processing surplus PGM feedstock.

“The PGM joint partnership agreement, which targets the processing of the increasing PGM feedstocks due to our expanding chrome operations, affords us the opportunity to expand our PGM production capacity by an approximate 30% without the need of spending any capital,” says Coetzer.