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(Sharecast News) - Jubilee Metals said in an update on Friday that copper output from its Zambian operations rose sharply in the first quarter of its 2026 financial year, as stable power supply, higher throughput at its Roan concentrator and the restart of mining at Molefe supported a stronger operational performance.
The AIM-traded company produced 938 tonnes of copper in the three months to 30 September, up 65% from the prior quarter, with no material power outages affecting operations.
Production was driven chiefly by Roan, which generated 917 tonnes of copper in concentrate from third-party feed, a 65.5% increase on the previous quarter.
Jubilee said Roan benefited from consistent power under its supply agreement and steady ore quality.
The company said it was expanding filtering capacity at Roan by around 30% to speed drying of concentrates prior to transport to the Sable refinery and to create scope for higher throughput.
At the Molefe mine, high-grade ore deliveries resumed in September following the expansion of Pit 2, contributing 1,122 tonnes for the quarter.
Output has since reached 3,500 tonnes for October, in line with guidance, and remains on track to rise to 4,500 tonnes by the end of November.
Jubilee said it aimed to double high-grade deliveries to 8,500 tonnes per month by the end of the third quarter, subject to the impact of the rainy season.
Infill drilling was under way at Pit 2, and a proposed joint venture to undertake resource drilling across the Molefe district is expected to conclude in November.
The group also continued work on its Large Waste Project, a planned development to process nearly 240 million tonnes of historical tailings and waste material.
An independent resource review remains on schedule, with further infill drilling due to begin in the third quarter and near-final engineering designs expected by quarter end.
Jubilee said discussions with potential project partners were progressing.
Revised copper production guidance for the full year has been set at 4,500 to 5,100 tonnes, compared with 2,211 tonnes in the 2025 financial year, depending on seasonal conditions.
The company said its Three-Pillar Strategy - comprising third-party feed processing at Roan, its mine-to-metals operations centred on Sable and Molefe, and long-term tailings processing - continued to underpin the expansion of its Zambian copper business.
Chief executive Leon Coetzer said the group had entered a "new phase of growth" as operations stabilised.
"It has been a significant year for the team as we become a pure Zambia focused copper producer," he said.
"To this end, I am pleased to report positive progress in the first quarter of the 2026 financial year, where we have successfully improved our copper production versus the previous year's comparable period.
"With both Roan and Sable processing plants now fully operational, and the Molefe open-pit copper mine expanding successfully, our copper business is stabilising ahead of a new phase of growth."
He added that the remainder of the year would focus on feed rates, yields and cost control as the company drives its copper strategy forward.
At 1044 GMT, shares in Jubilee Metals Group were down 1.45% at 2.88p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.