Metals producer Jubilee has taken a significant step towards securing stable electricity for its Zambian operations by signing a power purchase agreement with Lunsemfwa Hydro Power Company.

The agreement, which came into effect last week, ensures uninterrupted power for the company's processing plants, with 100% of the electricity sourced from renewable energy.

Power stability is critical as Zambia faces severe electricity constraints, with ongoing supply challenges threatening the country's economy.

For Jubilee, securing consistent power supply is a crucial factor for successfully executing its Zambian copper strategy, which targets an initial processing capacity of 25 000 t/y of copper. The strategy is anchored by two key operational sites: the integrated Sable refinery and the upgraded Roan concentrator.

The company aims to fully use this capacity by bringing its secured copper resources into production through openpit mining operations and the reprocessing of surface waste.

The Roan front-end module has now achieved design capacity, and operations have been handed over to the Roan operational team.

Further, the Munkoyo openpit operation has started ramping up, targeting 15 000 t/m of run-of-mine ore. This includes 5 000 t of 3% high-grade copper ore being delivered directly to the Sable refinery, while the sub-1% lower-grade copper ore is being stockpiled at site for further processing.

Jubilee is also advancing its large waste rock project, with more than 260-million tonnes of surface rock available for reprocessing. A commercial trial of 15 000 t will be processed through Roan's front-end module in November as part of the final due diligence review.

"The frequent rolling outages posed an ongoing risk to the stability of our operations, so I am grateful that we have now secured a reliable, continuous power source. This has been a critical factor in achieving design throughput at our new Roan front-end module," said CEO Leon Coetzer.

He added that the company was well-positioned to meet its copper production goals. "With upgrades at our Roan concentrator and Sable refinery, we are well-positioned to achieve our initial target processing capacity of 25 000 t of copper per year. The recent milestones, including the ramp-up of our Munkoyo openpit operation, and near completion of our due diligence of Project G, which if successful will be brought into operation within four months, ensure a continued upward drive in our copper output."

Coetzer stated that discussions to secure a further two openpit opportunities were progressing well. "I am confident in our ability to secure further similar opportunities."