Africa-focused mining and development company Marula Mining has started initial exploration activities at its Bagamoyo graphite project, in Tanzania.
This follows the announcement made on November 30 last year, when Marula secured a 73% commercial interest from local Tanzanian company Kusini Gateway Industrial Park (KGIP) in 22 granted graphite mining licences located in the Bagamoyo district in the Pwanai region of Tanzania.
Initial exploration activities – Phase 1 programme – have now begun at the Bagamoyo project in accordance with the heads of agreement signed with KGIP.
Exploration and mining services company Geofields Tanzania has been engaged to complete the Phase 1 programme and has mobilised their team to the site and work is already under way.
The Phase 1 programme will include mapping, sampling and trenching across the 22 granted mining licences and targeting high-grade, jumbo and large-flake graphite mineralisation.
Samples from the Phase 1 programme will be collected and prepared to be sent for analysis in Tanzania.
A comprehensive geological database will be produced as part of the Phase 1 programme, allowing the company’s management team and technical consultants to move towards implementing its Phase 2 programme work.
The Phase 1 programme will be completed in the first quarter this year.
The results and recommendations from the Phase 1 programme completed by Geofields will be released following a review by the company’s technical management team, along with the details of the planned Phase 2 programme that will follow Marula’s board and management team, which will be on site with KGIP in this month to review Geofields’ progress and preliminary results.
“Since signing the agreement with KGIP in late November, we have focused our efforts on assessing the opportunity that exists on account of our 73% interest in the Bagamoyo graphite project. I was on site at the Bagamoyo Project last month together with the KGIP team last month, and our country manager.
“We were very pleased with what we saw and what we believe can be accomplished in the short and medium term in partnership with KGIP,” Marula Mining CEO Jason Brewer said.
He said that, with Geofields being a strategic service provider company to the Tanzanian exploration and mining industry, they will be working closely with the Marula team to provide ground exploration survey works and drilling services.
“Graphite continues to stand out as an essential ingredient in the manufacture of electric vehicle batteries, and as global demand for electric vehicles continues to escalate it is expected to drive a considerable increase in demand for graphite, Marula intends to work towards supplying the product to the global markets from its exploration and development activities in Tanzania and in support of the green transition,” Brewer said.