Expansion at Blesberg with New Prospecting Right Acquisition
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Marula Mining PLC
(“Marula’’ or the “Company”)
3 October 2023
Expansion at Blesberg with New Prospecting Right Acquisition
Marula Mining (AQSE: MARU) (“Marula” or the “Company’) an African focused mining investment company, is pleased to announce that the Company and its wholly-owned South African subsidiary, Marula Lithium Mining South Africa Pty Limited (“MLMSA”), have entered into a binding heads of agreement with South African mining and exploration companies, Opencast Resources Pty Ltd (“ORL”) and Future Gems Pty Ltd (“FGL”), to secure a 70% interest in FGL from ORL, the holder of the Korridor 21 Prospecting Right (“Korridor” or the “Project”) in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa, a region known for high-grade pegmatite deposits. The acquisition will be satisfied by way of an initial consideration of £125,000 in Marula shares along with a cash payment of up to US$50,000 with subsequent share-based payments subject to completion of key technical milestones.
Korridor is located approx. 30km immediately to the west of the Company’s Blesberg Lithium and Tantalum Mine (“Blesberg”). Korridor is located on Prospecting Right NC30/5/1/1/2/13112PR, which is valid for a period of 5 years through to 2028 and extends over 912.65km2. It is in a region considered highly prospective for lithium mineralisation.
As part of the Company’s ongoing exploration and mining works program at Blesberg, and as announced on 20 September 2023, the multi-spectral satellite imaging analyses currently being completed over Blesberg will also be extended over Korridor. The airborne geophysical survey by SkyTEM Africa Pty Limited is scheduled to commence next week at Blesberg, is also proposed to cover part of the Korridor area too.
Highlights:
- Marula and MMLSA have entered into a binding Heads of Agreement with ORL and FGL and secured a 70% interest in the Korridor Lithium Prospecting License
- The Korridor license area of 912.65km2 is over 80 times the 10.52km2 size of Blesberg and materially increases the Company’s land holdings in a region with proven high-grade lithium bearing pegmatite deposits
- Korridor is located approx. 30km due west of Blesberg and is easily accessed from both main road infrastructure in the region and from the Blesberg mine site itself
- The Company’s geologists have advised that they believe the pegmatites in the Korridor area, are predominantly hosted by the Vioolsdrif Granitoid Suite and are lenticular dyke and vein-like bodies, with zoned mineralisation containing lithium, tantalum, niobium, feldspars, beryl and bismuth similar to that found at Blesberg
- The area has not been subject to any systematic or modern exploration work and the Company will now commence broad exploration activities over the Prospecting Right with geophysics and multi-spectral satellite imaging work and additional field work that will focus on areas with exposed and shallow lithium mineralisation
- The multi-spectral satellite imaging work currently being undertaken at Blesberg by Pytheas AG, will also be completed over Korridor and is aimed at identifying prospective lithium mineralised areas
- In addition, the airborne geophysics program that will commence at Blesberg in October 2023, is also proposed to be completed across parts of Korridor
- Acquisition of the 70% interest in FGL is to be completed through a series of share based payments that are linked to satisfaction of key technical and performance milestones at the Project
- The Company has agreed to issue the ORL shareholders with an initial tranche of 1,000,000 new ordinary shares at a price of 12.5 pence per new ordinary share and reimburse to them up to US$50,000 of project related costs
- Four further tranches of shares, are to be made to the ORL shareholders upon achievement of key technical milestones and a decision by the Company to move forward with additional work at each stage
- The technical milestones and issue of shares include (i) 1,500,000 new ordinary shares to be issued on completion of the initial exploration program, (ii) 1,500,000 new ordinary shares to be issued on completion of a resource definition drilling program and the release of a JORC Compliant Resource statement, (iii) 2,000,000 new ordinary shares to be issued on a decision to commence mine development and (iv) a final 2,000,000 new ordinary shares to be issued on completion of lithium product sales that generate minimum revenue of US$2,500,000
- Under the terms of the Agreement, Marula will fund all exploration activities at the Project through to completion of a feasibility study and a decision to commence mine development
- The Company’s executive management believe that there is the potential to develop multiple satellite open pit mining operations at Korridor, with the mined material loaded and hauled to expanded processing facilities at Blesberg
- Formal documentation has commenced with ORL and FGL and its shareholders and this is expected to be completed in due course
Admission
Application has been made for the 1,000,000 Initial Consideration Shares to be admitted to trading on the Aquis Stock Exchange Growth Market on or around 6 October 2023 (“Admission”).
Total Voting Rights
Following Admission, the Company's issued share capital will comprise 150,692,908 ordinary shares of 0.01p each, with each share carrying the right to one vote, therefore the total number of voting rights in the Company will be 150,692,908. This figure may be used by shareholders as the denominator for calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in the Company, or a change to their interest in the Company, under the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.
Jason Brewer, Marula Mining PLC CEO said:
"I am really pleased that we have been able to sign this agreement with ORL and FGL and its shareholders and significantly increase our land holdings in the Northern Cape, a region with proven high-grade lithium mineralisation.
“We have invested heavily in the mining and processing operations at Blesberg in 2023 and strategically it is important for us to consolidate our position in the region. We believe there is the opportunity for the central processing operations at Blesberg to treat material mined from multiple satellite open pit operations across the broader Blesberg license area and the Korridor license area in the future.
“Work will commence immediately at Korridor, with the ongoing multi-spectral satellite imaging work at Blesberg to be extended to cover Korridor, and the airborne geophysics survey which starts in October 2023 on Blesberg, is proposed to also cover part of the Korridor area too.
“This acquisition demonstrates our commitment to the region and in growing our battery metals business in South Africa around the Blesberg Lithium and Tantalum Mine. I look forward to updating shareholders on our progress and further developments at Korridor.”
About the Korridor 21 Prospecting Right
Korridor is located approx. 30km immediately west of Blesberg and approx. 48km from the town of Steinkopf towards Port Nolloth.
FGL is the 100% holder of Prospecting Right NC30/5/1/1/2/13112PR, which is valid for a period of 5 years through to 2028 and extends over 912.65km2 over portions 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 of the Korridor 21 in the Namaqualand District of the Northern Cape.
FGL and ORL previously entered into a Memorandum of Understanding under which ORL secured a 70% interest in FGL and which sets out the proposed exploration and development of mining and processing at Korridor.
The Korridor Prospecting Right is situated in a border zone between two tectonic domains, the Richtersveld Sub- provinces and Bushmanland Terrane, of the Namaqua Sector of the Namaqua-Natal Province. The Company’s geological team believe that the pegmatites in the Korridor area, are predominantly hosted by the Vioolsdrif Granitoid Suite. The Vioolsdrif Granitoid Suite consists of granodiorites and alkali feldspar leucogranites.
The pegmatites in the Korridor area are considered to be lenticular dyke and vein-like bodies, and display zoned mineralisation with the pegmatite containing lithium, tantalum, niobium, feldspars, beryl and bismuth. The mineralisation is associated with 6-zones with the spodumene identified in one of three intermediate zones and the tantalite mineralisation identified in two of the three intermediate zones.
The Directors of Marula are responsible for the contents of this announcement. This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of UK Market Abuse Regulation.
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 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 or AIM Market, 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
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Email : jason@marulamining.com
Email : info@marulamining.com
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| AQSE Corporate Adviser Cairn Financial Advisers LLP, Liam Murray / Ludovico Lazzaretti
| +44 (0)20 7213 0880 |
| Broker Peterhouse Capital Limited,
| +44 (0)20 7469 0930
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| Financial PR and IR BlytheRay Tim Blythe / Megan Ray / Said Izagaren
| +44 (0)20 7138 3204
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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.
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