Jubilee's Copper Output Triples to 3,739 t in FY2026

Jubilee Metals produced 3 739 t of copper prior to refining from its Roan operations and Molefe mine in the financial year ended 30 June 2026, a 225% year-on-year increase, while material delivered to its Sable refinery rose 1 497.6% to 1 342 t of contained copper.

Jubilee Metals has come out of its 2026 financial year with the one number a developing producer most needs: a much bigger one than last year. Combined production prior to refining from the company's Roan operations and the Molefe mine reached 3 739 t of copper in the twelve months to 30 June, an increase of 225% on the prior financial year, and the company says it is targeting further growth from here.

The second figure in the release matters more for margin than the first. Combined copper in concentrate and run-of-mine material delivered to Jubilee's Sable facility for refining totalled 1 342 t of contained copper over the full year — a rise of 1 497.6% year-on-year, off a base that was close to negligible. That is the part of the business that turns mined and concentrated material into a refined product Jubilee sells itself, rather than selling an intermediate into someone else's circuit.

Two numbers, two different stories

Read together, the disclosures describe a company doing two things at once. The 225% jump at Roan and Molefe is a mining and concentrating story: more material moved, more copper recovered, a processing chain that ran closer to what it was built to do. The 1 497.6% jump in deliveries to Sable is a plumbing story: a refinery that had been starved of feed is finally being fed.

On the figures given, the material sent to Sable represents roughly 35.9% of the pre-refining tonnage — an illustrative share derived from the two reported totals rather than a number Jubilee itself disclosed. That leaves the majority of production still moving as concentrate or run-of-mine rather than through the company's own refining step. Closing that gap is the obvious lever: every tonne re-routed from third-party sale to in-house refining captures a slice of value that currently leaves the group.

It also explains why the percentage increases look so lopsided. A 225% gain implies output a little over three times the prior year; a near-1 500% gain implies a starting point that was small enough to be rounding error. The first is a genuine operational step-up. The second is a facility being switched on.

Why integrated copper is the harder model

Jubilee describes itself as an integrated copper producer and resource developer — mining, processing and refining under one roof, with a base in Zambia's copper belt. That model is more capital-hungry and more fragile than simply digging and shipping, because every link has to work at once. A refinery without feed is a fixed cost. A concentrator without a refinery downstream is a price-taker.

The flip side is that when the chain does connect, the economics improve without a single extra tonne being mined. Refined copper commands a different price and a different customer set from concentrate, and the producer captures treatment and refining charges it would otherwise pay away. The FY2026 numbers are the first full-year evidence that Jubilee's chain is connecting.

Copper's demand backdrop is doing the company no harm either. Grid rebuilds, electrified transport and data-centre power infrastructure all pull on the same metal, and new primary supply has been slow to arrive at scale. A mid-tier producer adding thousands of tonnes a year does not move that market, but it does get to sell into it.

What the ramp implies for FY2027

Jubilee has said it is looking to further production growth, without the lead disclosing a specific tonnage target. The sensible way to frame the coming year is therefore in terms of the two constraints the FY2026 numbers expose.

• Feed consistency at Sable. The refinery's utilisation was the binding constraint in FY2025 and remains the clearest source of incremental value. Watch whether the share of total production routed through Sable rises from the roughly 35.9% implied by the full-year figures.
• Run-rate versus full-year average. A 225% annual increase built on a mid-year ramp means the exit rate is likely well above the full-year average. Quarterly disclosure through FY2027 will show whether that exit rate holds.
• Molefe's contribution. The mine is named alongside Roan in the combined total but not broken out. A split would tell investors how much of the growth is new mining versus better recovery from existing streams.
• Refined output as a reported line. Jubilee reports tonnes delivered for refining. The number that eventually matters is tonnes of refined copper sold, and the recovery rate between the two.

The Mining Weekly report frames the year as a platform for further growth rather than a peak, which is the right reading of a ramp that was still building through the period.

The risks that come with a steep curve

Growth rates this large are easy to celebrate and hard to repeat. A company that triples output from a low base is not going to triple again; the comparatives get brutal fast. Investors reading FY2027 disclosure should expect the headline percentages to compress sharply even if absolute tonnes keep rising — and that compression is not, by itself, bad news.

The operational risks are the familiar ones for the region: power availability, logistics on the corridor out of the copper belt, and the grade and consistency of feed. Jubilee's model compounds those risks, because an interruption anywhere in the chain idles capital everywhere else in it. Against that, the model also compounds the benefit of any fix.

There is also the question of what happens to the portion of production still sold before refining. If Jubilee cannot lift Sable's throughput fast enough to absorb rising mine output, the share going through its own circuit could fall even as absolute refined tonnes rise — a technically fine outcome that would nonetheless dilute the integration story.

Reading it against the market

The results landed on a session in which broad US equity benchmarks were modestly lower. The S&P 500 tracker (SPY) closed at $760.88, down 0.45% on the day from a previous close of $764.29, while the Nasdaq 100 tracker (QQQ) finished at $709.18, down 0.80%, and the Dow tracker (DIA) closed at $524.49, down 0.25%, according to licensed market data as of 20:00 GMT on 14 September 2026. None of that reflects on Jubilee directly, but it is the risk backdrop a small-cap producer's news has to compete with.

For now the company has done the part it controls: it has shown a chain that moves metal from pit to refinery, and it has put a number on it. The test is whether 3 739 t reads as a starting point or a high-water mark when the FY2027 figures arrive.

Key facts

• Pre-refining copper output, FY2026: 3 739 t from Roan operations and Molefe mine, up 225% year-on-year
• Delivered to Sable for refining: 1 342 t of contained copper, up 1 497.6% year-on-year
• Financial year end: 30 June 2026
• Market backdrop at last close: S&P 500 (SPY) $760.88, -0.45%, as of 20:00 GMT, 14 Sep 2026

Frequently asked questions

How much copper did Jubilee Metals produce in FY2026?

Jubilee reported combined production prior to refining of 3 739 t of copper from its Roan operations and the Molefe mine for the financial year ended 30 June 2026. That represents an increase of 225% on the prior financial year. The figure covers material before it passes through the company's refining step.

What is the Sable facility and why do the delivery figures matter?

Sable is Jubilee's refining facility. Copper in concentrate and run-of-mine material delivered there totalled 1 342 t of contained copper over the full year, up 1 497.6% year-on-year. Refining in-house lets Jubilee sell a finished product and capture treatment and refining value that would otherwise go to a third party.

Why is the increase at Sable so much larger than the mine-level increase?

Because the starting point was far smaller. A 1 497.6% rise implies prior-year deliveries were close to negligible, so the refinery was effectively being switched on during FY2026. The 225% increase in pre-refining output, by contrast, is measured against an already meaningful base of mining and concentrating activity.

Does all of Jubilee's copper go through its own refinery?

No. On the two reported totals, roughly 35.9% of pre-refining production was delivered to Sable during FY2026 — an illustrative share derived from the disclosed figures, not a number the company stated. The remainder moved as concentrate or run-of-mine material, which is the gap Jubilee's integration strategy is aimed at closing.

What has Jubilee said about future production?

The company has indicated it is looking to further production growth beyond the FY2026 result. No specific tonnage target or guidance range was disclosed alongside the annual production figures, so the practical measures to watch are quarterly throughput at Sable, the exit run-rate implied by the year's ramp, and the split between Roan and Molefe.

What should investors watch in FY2027 disclosure?

Four things: whether the share of output routed through Sable rises, whether the exit run-rate from FY2026 holds across a full year, a breakdown of Molefe's contribution against Roan's, and refined copper actually sold rather than tonnes merely delivered for refining. Headline percentage growth will compress sharply against the higher base.

Sources

• Jubilee looks to further production growth after higher 2026 output achieved — Mining Weekly

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