LONDON, UK: Marula Mining (AQSE: MARU), an African focused mining and development company, has announced that it has signed a contract for an initial trial shipment of high-grade lithium ore from the Blesberg Lithium and Tantalum Mine (“Blesberg” or the “Project”) with a Chinese importer and exporter of metalliferous ores.

The contract involves the sale of 27.5 tonnes of high-grade spodumene ore with specifications of 6% to 6.5% Li2O grade, which will be shipped from Cape Town to Huangpu in China. The sales price is US$3,000 per tonne, which is a premium to the previously executed sales agreements at Blesberg. The material will be supplied from the existing stockpiles of processed material at Blesberg.

The Company expects to complete the delivery and payment of the initial trial shipment in the next 7 to 14 days, after finalising the transportation arrangements. This trial sales agreement is considered by the Board to potentially pave the way for further direct sales into China of high-grade lithium ores from Blesberg.

Marula Mining is also in the process of terminating its previous offtake agreement with Southern Jade Resources Pty Limited that extended over the first 2,000 tonnes of spodumene material produced from the stockpiles at Blesberg. The Company is also in the process of concluding its negotiations with a number of European based global commodity trading groups in respect to a long-term offtake agreement over spodumene and lithium products produced from the stockpiles at Blesberg and from the Company’s broader development plans for the proposed Blesberg open pit mining operations.

Jason Brewer, Marula Mining PLC CEO said: “Over the past several months there has been interest from multiple Chinese groups in our lithium mining and processing operations at the Blesberg Lithium and Tantalum Mine and this initial shipment of high-grade spodumene allows us to deliver material into that market. Whilst this agreement with a Chinese importer and exporter of metalliferous ores has the potential in our view to open up other opportunities in China for Marula, it is important to note that our focus remains firmly on concluding our negotiations on a long-term offtake agreement with one of the several global commodity trading groups for the production of lithium from Blesberg. The negotiations with the global commodity trading groups for an off take agreement are ongoing for all or part of the future production from Blesberg. I look forward to updating our shareholders and investors on the progress of this initial shipment and on the finalisation of our long term offtake agreement.”

Blesberg is one of the largest historical pegmatite mines in Africa, which produced lithium, tantalum, beryllium, mica and feldspar. Marula Mining acquired a 90% interest in Blesberg in 2019 and has been conducting exploration and processing activities at the Project since then.