Marula Mining PLC Revised Development Plan for Kinusi Copper Mine

RNS Number : 6794F

Marula Mining PLC

26 September 2024

 

 

 

 

Marula Mining PLC

("Marula'' or the "Company")

 

 26 September 2024

 

Revised Development Plan for Kinusi Copper Mine

Copper Cathode Production Proposed to Commence in 2025

 

Marula Mining (AQSE: MARU A2X: MARU) an African focused mining and development company, is pleased to provide an update on its planned development and production plans for the Kinusi Copper Mine ("Kinusi") located in the Mpwapwa District in the Dodoma Region of central Tanzania.

 

The updated mine development plan involves a large conventional open pit mine development and a two-phase processing operation comprising initially of a gravity concentrate, coarse jigging and fines dewatering circuit to produce a 24,000 tonnes per annum ("tpa") of high-grade copper concentrate ("Phase 1"). The estimated capital costs for the Phase 1 gravity concentrate, coarse jigging and fines dewatering circuit based on the quotes received is approx. ZAR 27.4 million (approximately £1.4 million), which will be funded from available, but undrawn amounts due, from the subscription agreement entered into with AUO Commercial Brokerage LLC in 2024. Phase 2 will then incorporate a hydrometallurgy fines optimised heap leaching circuit, a copper solvent extraction as well as electrowinning refining process ("Phase 2") to produce an initial 10,200 tpa of copper cathode.

 

The Company's Board of Directors has now approved the updated development plan for Kinusi and the recommendations made by the Company's technical management and independent geological and processing consultants who undertook a series of site visits to Kinusi in H1 2024 and most recently in August 2024.

 

Final test work for the Phase 1 gravity concentrate, jigging and fines dewatering circuit has been approved by the Board and will be completed in South Africa in Q4 2024.  The associated Phase 2 test work has also been approved by the Board. This will comprise hydrometallurgy test work, copper leach kinetic tests, and fines optimised heap leaching polymer screening as well as column tests. In addition, detailed quotes have now been received from a number of mineral processing groups for the initial gravity concentrate coarse jigging and fines dewatering circuit which are being reviewed by the Company's Executive Management, ahead of awarding the contract for the commencement of its installation and commissioning in late Q4 2024 and early Q1 2025.

 

Open pit mine planning and initial mining activities will commence in Q4 2024, with high-grade copper ore to be stockpiled ahead of the commissioning of the Phase 1 gravity concentrate coarse jigging and fines dewatering circuit. High grade copper concentrate production is now planned to commence in Q1 2025 with first export sales to be completed late in the quarter.

 

Highlights:

•     Updated and 'high-value' mine development and copper processing plan for Kinusi approved by the Company's Board of Directors

•       The updated mine development and processing plan follows numerous site visits by the Company's Executive Management team. Accompanying reports and recommendations from independent geological and mineral processing consultants in 2024 have been received which confirms the following key parameters:

•        the presence of a significant high-grade copper that extends for over 1 kilometre ("km") in length and over 300 metres ("m") in width at the main Sasimo Prospect (announced on 18 August 2023). 

•        estimates of an initial Exploration Target at Kinusi of a 10-15 Metric tonnes ("Mt") deposit of high-grade copper, gold, and other base metals (announced on 18 August 2023)

•       the copper mineralogy is highly oxidized, with malachite and azurite being the predominant mineralogy

•          the road access, existing on-site power and water availability is sufficient to support the planned open pit mining operations and two-phase copper processing operation through to production of an LME grade copper cathode

•          recommendation to begin developing the more apparent and accessible surface open pits, in order to feed a gravity concentrate circuit consisting of a crushing, screening and coarse size fraction jigging circuit

•       the gravity concentrates and jigging circuit is a relatively simple, fast implementation, processing installation which requires low power and relatively low water consumption infrastructure

•         the copper mineralogy is considered sufficiently oxidised, to be amenable to processing by way of a sulphuric acid hydrometallurgy processing flowsheet route, to produce LME grade copper cathode

•         the assessed copper cathode design production capacity of 10,200 tpa has been chosen, based upon preliminary assumed available power of 5 kVA and an estimated installed power demand by the processing plant of 3.5kVA

•          further test work is now required to commence the finalisation of the Phase 1 gravity concentrate and jigging circuit and will includes materials hardness, bond work index and particle size distribution testing

•          additional test work is also required for the Phase 2 hydrometallurgy fines optimised heap leaching circuit, and copper solvent extraction and electrowinning refining process and includes hyrometallurgy chemistry test work, copper leach kinetic tests, and heap leaching polymer screening and column tests

•          Based on the recommendations received from the various independent consultants and the Company's technical management team, Takela Mining Tanzania Limited ("Takela Mining") is commencing open pit mining in early October 2024 in line with the new development plan and using new mining equipment recently purchased by the Company's Tanzanian subsidiary

•          High-grade copper ore from this open pit mining is to be stockpiled over Q4 2024 whilst sampled material from Pit 4 is sent to South Africa for final test work to optimise the design of the Phase 1 gravity concentrate, coarse jigging and fines dewatering circuit that is intended to produce 24,000 tpa of high-grade saleable copper concentrate

•          Detailed quotes, power requirements and installation and commissioning schedules for the Phase 1 gravity concentrate, coarse jigging and fines dewatering circuit have already been received from a number of mineral processing groups in South Africa

•          The estimated capital costs for the Phase 1 gravity concentrate, coarse jigging and fines dewatering circuit based on the quotes received is approximately ZAR 27.4 million (approximately £1.4 million)

•          The Phase 1 processing circuit has been designed to produce 24,000 tpa of a saleable high-grade copper concentrate and to be relatively simple, allowing for both flexible operations and the planned successful production of a high-quality copper concentrate given the expected coarse particle size performance in the gravity concentrate circuit

•          The award of the Phase 1 contract is to be made in Q4 2024, and installation and commissioning will then commence and continue into Q1 2025

•          During Q4 2024 and throughout the initial commissioning and operation of the Phase 1 processing plant in Q1 2025, further test work is to be completed to allow for the detailed design of the Phase 2 fines optimised heap leaching option, and the back-end refining solvent extraction and electrowinning refining processes to be completed

•          The Phase 2 processing flowsheet is to then be fully integrated into the Phase 1 processing flowsheet and includes the crushing of the coarse jig concentrate and incorporates this copper-enriched stream into the fines optimised heap leach feed

•          The planned heap leach operation is proposed to be optimised with more copper per cubic metre of deposited solids, which is proposed to increase recoverable copper units by way of leaching. The resulting enrichment of the leach feed also improves acid utilisation. The resultant pregnant leach solution is collected as run-off from the fines optimised heap leach deposition solids and serves as feed solution for the copper solvent extraction and electrowinning refining circuit

•          The copper is to be extracted from the pregnant leach solution in solvent extraction plant and from there the resultant enriched copper solution is then transferred to the copper electrowinning circuit where the copper cathode is produced and is to be then stockpiled ahead of transportation through to Dar es Salaam for export

•          The initial design of the Phase 2 fines optimised heap leaching option, and the back-end refining solvent extraction and electrowinning refining processes and mine economics have been based on a run-of-mine ore grade of 2.6% copper (which is line with the assay results received from Kinusi in Q4 2023), and copper recoveries of 85% to produce an initial 10,200 tpa of copper cathode

•          In parallel with the implementation of the updated mine and processing plan, plus the work that has already been carried out, the Company will commence its Phase 2 Exploration Program including the resource drilling program that is aimed at increasing confidence in the 10-15Mt Exploration Target that has already been defined at Kinusi

•          The Company's CEO, Executive Chairman and Non-Executive Director, Ms Hannah Wang'Ombe will be in London during the London Metals Exchange Week, which commences 30 September 2024, to finalise its ongoing sales and offtake negotiations on copper concentrate and copper cathode production from Kinusi

 

Jason Brewer, Marula Mining PLC CEO said:

 

"There has been a tremendous amount of work completed at the Kinusi Copper Mine over 2024, following the results of the Phase 1 Exploration Programme. This work has been completed by numerous independent consultants, both from a geological, mining and mineral processing perspective.

 

The results of this work have caused us to re-assess the previously proposed development plans, which were solely based on production of high-grade copper concentrates. The independent mineral processing work completed most recently in August 2024 has demonstrated the real opportunity that exists at the Kinusi Copper Mine. We already believed from our earlier work that the potential of the Kinusi Copper Mine was quite significant, not only in terms of the high-grade and significant copper mineralisation that had been identified, but also from the existing infrastructure that was already in place to support our development plans.

 

The potential now is to establish the Kinusi Copper Mine as a producer and exporter of LME grade copper cathode, which presents the Company with the opportunity to add significant value to a strategically important mining operation in the Dodoma Region of Tanzania that will provide far reaching economic and employment benefits to the communities and stakeholders we work alongside with.

 

I look forward to see the mining activities accelerate over the coming quarter and updating shareholders and our stakeholders on these activities as well as the results from the test work that is to now due to commence in support of the expanded two-phase mineral processing operation that is to proceed."

 

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 Manganese 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.

 

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