Tomra XRT Ore Sorter Update & Issue of Equity

Marula Mining PLC

01 August 2024

 

  1 August 2024

Marula Mining PLC

("Marula'' or the "Company")

Tomra XRT Ore Sorter Update

Issue of Equity - Subscription of Shares Agreement

Marula Mining (AQSE: MARU A2X: MARU), an African-focused mining and development company, is pleased to provide an update on the delivery and planned commissioning of the Tomra COM XRT 1200 Ore Sorter ("Ore Sorter") to the Blesberg Lithium and Tantalum Mine ("Blesberg") as part of the Company's previously announced plans to expand production and exports of spodumene ores and higher-value lithium products.

The Company has engaged several contractors, including Tomra Systems ASA ("Tomra Systems"), for the delivery, refurbishment and commissioning of the Ore Sorter at Blesberg.

De-commissioning of the Ore Sorter in Gauteng Province in South Africa has been completed. Transportation of the Ore Sorter to Springbok in the Northern Cape Province will commence in due course. On arrival in Springbok it will undergo maintenance and refurbishment work ahead of its installation and commissioning at Blesberg.

The Ore Sorter is an integral part of the Company's plans to expand the ore processing capacity at Blesberg and production of a high-grade lithium spodumene ore and other higher-value lithium products. Its commissioning at Blesberg has been delayed by several months as a result of matters outside of the Company's control. Upon commissioning of the Ore Sorter, the Directors believe that Marula will be in a position to produce higher-value lithium products.

Further to the announcement of 18 April 2024, the Company also announces that it has received ZAR 7 million (approx. £300,000) in cash through the previously announced AUO Commercial Brokerage LLC Subscription Agreement ("AUO") for expenses relating to the Ore Sorter and has therefore issued 8,007,664 new ordinary shares at a price of 3.75 pence per share ("Tomra Shares").

A further announcement will be made in due course once the Company is in receipt of an additional ZAR 2 million funds to be received shortly under its existing funding arrangements through AUO. Further to the announcement of 18 April 2024, 54,075,518 new ordinary shares remain outstanding to be issued to AUO.

Highlights:

·    de-commissioning of the Ore Sorter has now been completed

·    loading and transportation of the Ore Sorter to Springbok has now commenced

·    Tomra Systems has been appointed by the Company to complete the refurbishment and maintenance work on the Ore Sorter

·    civils contractors have also been engaged to complete the site civil and engineering works at Blesberg for the Ore Sorter installation

·    Tomra Systems will also oversee the installation and commissioning of the Ore Sorter at Blesberg alongside the Company's management team and consultants

·    samples of all rock types of different size fractions at Blesberg have been previously provided to Tomra as part of the earlier analyses and recovery test work which determined its suitability

·    bulk sample preparation of different size fractions will also now commence at Blesberg as part of the initial trials and optimisation work after the Ore Sorter's commissioning on-site

·    commissioning of the Ore Sorter at Blesberg is considered one of the key steps in the Company's plans to expand its ore processing capacity to achieve its planned increased levels

·    the installation of the Ore Sorter and additional crushing and screening capacity will also allow the Company to process the fines material to maximise recovery of lithium and tantalum mineralisation and the previously announced upgrading of the spodumene product to produce a higher value lithium product

·    discussion with the Company's lithium ore offtake partner and end users of lithium products in China for battery manufacturing have already commenced as part of this process to produce a high-value lithium product on site at Blesberg

Admission

Application has been made for the Tomra Shares to be admitted to trading on the Aquis Stock Exchange AQSE Growth Market and A2X Markets on or around 7 August 2024 ("Admission") and will rank pari passu with the ordinary shares of the Company in issue. The Company's ordinary shares remain suspended from trading.

Total Voting Rights

Following Admission, the Company's issued share capital will comprise 194,723,329 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 194,723,329. 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, CEO of Marula Mining, said:

"It's good to finally see progress with the delivery and planned installation and commissioning of the Tomra Ore Sorter at Blesberg.

"Despite the unforeseen and frustrating delays, we remain focused on our goal to enhance our ore processing capabilities and produce high value mineral products at Blesberg, and that extends beyond the spodumene ore and lithium products to also include the valuable by products that have been identified on site.

"With contractors now engaged to alongside our management team and the team from Tomra Systems,  I am confident in the progress that we will make and in delivering on our plans at Blesberg.

"Marula remains dedicated to advancing sustainable mineral processing technologies, and once both the Tomra and Rados ore sorters are operating at Blesberg I look forward to see what they will deliver to our operations as we push ahead with our delayed expansion plans .

"I look forward to provide further updates as we move ahead and achieve more milestones at Blesberg."

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 A2X: MARU) is an African focused battery metals investment and exploration company and has interests in several high value mining operations and mine development projects in Africa: the Blesberg Lithium and Tantalum Mine, Northern Cape Lithium and Tungsten Project, Korridor Lithium Project  and Kruisrivier Cobalt Mine, all in South Africa; the Larisoro Mnaganese Mine and Kilifi Manganese Processing Operation both in Kenya; 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 AQUIS Stock Exchange (AQSE) in London and A2X Markets in South Africa. Marula is exploring opportunities to admit its shares to trading on 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 : [e-mail]               Email : [e-mail]
AQSE Corporate Adviser Cairn Financial Advisers LLP, Liam Murray / Ludovico Lazzaretti	[phone]
Broker Peterhouse Capital Limited, Charles Goodfellow / Duncan Vasey	[phone]
Financial PR and IR BlytheRay Tim Blythe / Megan Ray / Said Izagaren	[phone]
A2X Advisor AcaciaCap Advisors Proprietary Limited Michelle Krastanov	[phone]

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.

 

END