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ASX-listed Jupiter Mines has declared an interim dividend of $0.005 apiece for the six months ended August 31. The company posted an interim profit after tax of $27-million, compared with an interim profit of $29-million posted for the six months ended August 31, 2020. During the period under review, Jupiter divested its Central Yilgarn iron project assets, in Australia, into a wholly-owned subsidiary Juno Minerals and completed a demerger of Juno through an in-specie distribution of its shareholding in Juno to Jupiter shareholders.
The profit realised from this demerger totalled $12-million, while Jupiter provided $5-million in seed capital funding to Juno. The Tshipi Borwa mine, in South Africa, recorded a net profit after tax of $31-million, of which $15-million was attributable to Jupiter through its 49.9% shareholding in Tshipi é Ntle Manganese Mining – the owner of the mine. Tshipi é Ntle Manganese Mining sold 1.65-million tonnes of manganese ore in the period under review. Jupiter has advised that the net profit from Tshipi was lower than the prior corresponding period owing to sustained depressed manganese prices and significant increases in logistics and shipping costs, which could not be borne by the end-customer. The Tshipi Borwa mine remains behind plan on production owing to excavator breakdowns, inclement weather and operator issues.
Overall, shipping volumes were 8 000 t behind target for the year to date, but Tshipi é Ntle Manganese Mining, nonetheless, moved almost 1.8-million tonnes through on-land logistics during the reporting period, despite disruptions at the ports it uses in South Africa.