Battery metals miner Marula Mining and its Muchai Mining Kenya subsidiary have signed a share sale and purchase agreement to acquire an 80% interest in Agarwal Metals and Ores.

The agreement replaces a binding term sheet that the companies had in place a month ago.

Marula will transfer the final cash payment of £2-million from advances due from AUO Commercial Brokerage under existing funding arrangements to Agarwal, as well as issue £500 000 worth of new shares to the major shareholder of Agarwal.

Agarwal is a mineral processing company incorporated in Kenya, as well as the registered owner of the Kilifi manganese processing plant.

The plant is located about 60 km from the Port of Mombasa in Kenya, comprising a vibrating feeder, trommel scrubber, belt conveyor, jig separator, vibrating screen, pumps, fine jaw crusher, magnetic separator and manganese product stockpiling areas.

Marula advises that service and maintenance work is under way at the Kilifi plant ahead of a planned restart of manganese ore processing operations. Run-of-mine ore feed to the Kilifi plant, at a minimum grade of 20% manganese, has been secured under a manganese ore supply agreement with Kitmin Holdings.

The agreement allows for the supply and delivery of a minimum of 10 000 t a month of manganese ore, which will allow Marula’s subsidiary to operate the Kilifi plant at full capacity.