Marula Mining
PLC
("Marula'' or the "Company")
20 March
2024
Mining Right Application
Lodged and Accepted
Update on Blesberg Lithium
Mine Permits and Approvals
Marula Mining (AQSE: MARU), an
African-focused mining and development company, is pleased to
confirm that its wholly owned South African
subsidiary Southern African Lithium and Tantalum Mining (Pty)
Limited's ("SALT") application for a Mining Right for its
Blesberg Lithium and Tantalum Mine ("Blesberg" or
the "Project") has been accepted by the South African Department of
Mineral Resources and Energy ("DMRE").
Approval of the Mining Right, once
granted by the DMRE, will allow the Company to proceed with its
plans to expand the current stockpile re-processing operations at
Blesberg to include the development of a large scale and
conventional open pit mining operation.
The Company is further pleased to
confirm that additional permits and authorisations have now been issued to
SALT and its Blesberg mining operations and these will allow for
the planned expansion of operations and the commencement of the
conventional open pit drill and blast and load and haul mining
operations this year.
Highlights:
·
Application of the Mining Right was submitted in
January 2024.
·
SALT was formally notified of the acceptance by
the DMRE of the Mining Right Application on 1 March 2024
·
The Mining Right Application covers the full
1,051.45 hectares of the existing prospecting right
·
Technical data submitted for the 10-year Mining
Right included the preliminary exploration data from the Phase I
resource drilling completed in Q4 2023, a detailed 10-year mining
plan and associated mine production and processing schedules,
environmental and water management plans and a social and corporate
responsibility plan
·
Additional technical information will be submitted
to the DMRE over the coming weeks through to 11 April
2024
·
Additional permits and authorisations have been
received from various regulatory and community bodies in respect to
the transportation and use of explosives for the planned open pit
mining operations, as well as its on-site
water use and its management, environmental authorisations and land
lease agreements
·
SALT's application for permission for the
transportation of explosives to site for open pit blasting purposes
in accordance with the Mine Health and Safety Act (Act 29 of 1996)
was accepted by the DMRE and this approval will allow for the safe
delivery and use of explosives at Blesberg in the foreseeable
future
·
In January 2024, SALT submitted its water use
application to Department of Water and Sanitation in Upington.
Positive site inspections were completed on 7 March 2024 and final
technical documentation is now being submitted
·
Additional negotiations are ongoing with local
water rights holders and community groups to increase the water
supply at Blesberg to support further increase its mining and
processing activities and these negotiations are expected to
be completed in late Q2 2024
·
On 15 March 2024, SALT lodged an increased
environmental rehabilitation provision in
accordance with the National Environmental Management Act 1988 and
in respect to its ongoing mining and processing activities and
previously lodged Mining Permit
·
The Company and SALT continue to work closely with
the local communities and municipalities around Blesberg and are
pleased to confirm that it secured a surface use lease from the
Nama Khoi Local Municipality and is in the process of finalising a
long-term lease agreement as part of its broader plans for
long-term sustainable mining operations at Blesberg
Jason Brewer, CEO of Marula
Mining, commented:
"I
continue to be impressed with the hard work of our entire team at
Blesberg Mine, in making sure that we are delivering on all aspects
of our commitment to responsible and sustainable mining practices
and to working in partnership with all
stakeholders.
"We are all pleased to see the progress that is being made
from a regulatory and permits and approvals perspective, which is
essential as we move to establish the long term and significantly
larger mining and processing open pit operations at
Blesberg.
"As a company we continue to move forward and seek to secure
value for all our stakeholders and this can only be achieved
through contributing positively to the communities we operate in
and in working effectively within the regulatory framework of South
Africa's world class mining sector."
The
Directors of Marula are responsible for the contents of this
announcement.
About Marula Mining
Marula Mining (AQSE: MARU) is an
African focused battery metals investment and exploration company
and has interests in several high value mine projects in Africa;
the Blesberg Lithium and Tantalum Mine and Korridor Lithium Project in South
Africa, the Kinusi Copper Mine, the Nyorinyori Graphite Project,
the NyoriGreen Graphite Project and the Bagamoyo Graphite Project
all in Tanzania and the Nkombwa Hill Project in Zambia. As we
advance operations at these battery metals focused projects, Marula
will continue to build and expand its interests in other
high-quality projects in Africa.
Marula's strategy is to identify and
invest in advanced and high-value mining projects throughout East,
Central and Southern Africa that the Directors believe would
deliver returns for its shareholders. The Board and management team
aims to establish Marula as a socially and environmentally
responsible, sustainable, and profitable producer of critical
metals and commodities that are of increasingly strategic
importance to modern technologies and the global economy. Marula's
shares are traded on the AQUIS Stock Exchange (AQSE), Marula is
exploring opportunities to admit its shares to trading on the
London Stock Exchange plc's Standard List, Kenya's Nairobi
Securities Exchange and South Africa's Johannesburg Stock
Exchange.
For
enquiries contact:
Marula Mining PLC
Jason Brewer,
Chief Executive Officer
Faith Kinyanjui Mumbi
Investor Relations
|
Email :
jason@marulamining.com
Email :
info@marulamining.com
|
AQSE Corporate Adviser
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP,
Liam Murray / Ludovico Lazzaretti
|
+44 (0)20
7213 0880
|
Broker
Peterhouse Capital Limited,
Charles
Goodfellow / Duncan Vasey
|
+44
(0)20 7469 0930
|
Financial PR and IR
BlytheRay
Tim
Blythe / Megan Ray / Said Izagaren
|
+44 (0)20 7138 3204
|
Caution:
Certain statements in this
announcement, are, or may be deemed to be, forward looking
statements. Forward looking statements are identified by their use
of terms and phrases such as ''believe'', ''could'', "should"
''envisage'', ''estimate'', ''intend'', ''may'', ''plan'',
''potentially'', "expect", ''will'' or the negative of those,
variations or comparable expressions, including references to
assumptions. These forward-looking statements are not based on
historical facts but rather on the Directors' current expectations
and assumptions regarding the Company's future growth, results of
operations, performance, future capital and other expenditures
(including the amount, nature and sources of funding thereof),
competitive advantages, business prospects and opportunities. Such
forward looking statements reflect the Directors' current beliefs
and assumptions and are based on information currently available to
the Directors.