By Nyembe Chapeshamano
As the global community assembles in 2026 to secure the critical minerals necessary for the renewable energy transition, a quiet revolution is taking place in the heart of Zambia’s Copperbelt. While traditional mining often leaves behind scars on the landscape in the form of massive tailings and waste rock, Jubilee Metals Group PLC is proving that yesterday’s “waste” is today’s most strategic asset.
In a decisive strategic pivot this year, Jubilee has exited its South African PGM and chrome operations to focus entirely on its Zambian copper portfolio. This isn’t just a corporate reorganization; it is a profound bet on Zambia’s potential to become a global leader in sustainable, circular-economy mineral processing.
The “Three-Pillar” Blueprint for Growth
Jubilee’s operations in Zambia are built on a sophisticated three-pillar strategy that integrates exploration, primary mining, and secondary resource recovery:
- Roan Concentrator: Now fully operational, the upgraded Roan facility serves as a cash-generating engine that processes third-party feedstock and previously mined materials. In early 2026, it achieved record throughput, demonstrating that high-efficiency processing can turn low-grade “discard” into high-value concentrate.
- Sable Refinery & Molefe Mine: By integrating the Molefe Mine (formerly Munkoyo) with the Sable Refinery, Jubilee has created a seamless “mine-to-metals” business. The expansion of Sable, targeted for completion in mid-2026, will push refining capacity toward 14,000 tonnes per annum, transforming raw ore directly into high-purity copper cathodes on Zambian soil.
- The Large Waste Project: Perhaps the most ambitious of all, this project targets the staggering 240 million tonnes of surface material sitting in historical rock dumps. By the fourth quarter of 2026, Jubilee expects to select a joint venture partner to begin industrial-scale reclamation, effectively “cleaning up” the legacy of 20th-century mining while producing 21st-century wealth.
Value Addition: Moving Beyond Extraction
The real story of Jubilee in 2026 is its commitment to local value addition. For too long, African nations have seen their raw materials shipped overseas for refining. Jubilee is disrupting this “extractive-only” model.
Through its modular processing technology, Jubilee is bringing the factory to the source. The installation of a new copper leaching circuit at Roan specifically targets “super-fine” oxide copper—material that was historically lost during traditional processing. By capturing this “lost” copper, Jubilee is not just increasing margins; it is setting a new standard for mineral efficiency that aligns with Zambia’s national goal of reaching 3 million tonnes of annual copper production by 2031.
A 2026 Outlook: Resilience and Dividends
The outlook for the remainder of 2026 is exceptionally bright. Despite seasonal challenges brought by the 2025/2026 rainy season, which impacted local infrastructure, Jubilee has maintained a production guidance of 4,500 to 5,100 tonnes of copper.
With the capital realized from its South African exit, the company is now debt-lite and positioned to return value to shareholders through potential share buybacks or dividends. But the greatest “dividend” is for Zambia itself:
- Environmental Remediation: By processing tailings, Jubilee is actively reducing the environmental footprint of historic mining.
- Job Creation: The expansion of the Molefe Mine and the Large Waste Project is creating hundreds of skilled roles in geosciences and chemical engineering.
- Technological Sovereignty: Jubilee’s in-house technical development center in Zambia is becoming a hub for processing innovation, ensuring the “intellectual property” of the green transition is rooted in the Copperbelt.
The Path Forward
Jubilee Metals is no longer a “junior miner”; it is a sophisticated metals producer that embodies the future of African mining. As we look at the corridors—Lobito, TAZARA, and North-South—Jubilee provides the essential “cargo” that makes this infrastructure viable.
The message is clear: the road to a green global economy runs through Zambia, and it is paved with the innovative recovery of the resources we once thought were lost.