SIYAKHULA Sonke Empowerment Corporation (SSC Group) is set to take an empowerment stake in Marula Mining, the minerals developer that is digging for critical minerals projects in the Northern Cape.
The transaction, provisionally valued at R500m, will see SSC Group become Marula Mining's B-BBEE partner on two Northern Cape projects.
In addition to the Northern Cape, Marula Mining also operates in East Africa. Its shares are traded on London’s Aquis Stock Exchange and South Africa’s A2X.
SSC, founded in 2005 by Fred Arendse, a former Anglo American Platinum head of transformation, has been expanding from mining services into direct ownership and operation of mining assets.
The Marula deal follows SSC’s involvement in Neo Energy Metals’ proposed acquisition of the Beatrix 4 Shaft and Beisa uranium and gold project from Sibanye-Stillwater, where SSC is also Neo’s B-BBEE partner.
Neo agreed in December 2024 to buy Beatrix 4 and the Beisa project from Sibanye-Stillwater for R500m, comprising R250m in cash and R250m in Neo shares. At the time the agreement was signed, the shares were expected to give Sibanye-Stillwater an approximately 40% stake in Neo.
SSC’s empowerment transaction at Beisa was valued at R390m. SSC took an effective 20% interest in the project company, with employee and community trusts making up the balance of the 30% B-BBEE holding.
South Africa’s 2018 Mining Charter requires new mining rights to have a minimum 30% BEE shareholding. Marula said its proposed structure was designed to meet that requirement.
Under the Marula transaction, B-BBEE vehicles led by SSC will acquire 30% of Southern African Lithium and Tantalum Mining (SALT) and Northern Cape Lithium and Tungsten (NCLT). The stakes carry provisional purchase prices of R300m and R200m respectively.
SSC will hold 66.66% of each B-BBEE vehicle, while employee and community empowerment trusts will each hold 16.67%. Marula and its South African subsidiary will fund the purchase prices through loans to the empowerment companies.
The partnership will also give SSC an operating role. It will hold two of five board seats at each project company, participate in their strategic and operational management, and have first refusal to provide certain mining, exploration and technical services.
Arendse said the partnership would put “real ownership, and real operational responsibility, in the hands of South Africans”, adding that SSC would help operate the projects as an active shareholder.
Marula CEO Jason Brewer said the deal was “significantly more than satisfying an ownership requirement”, with Marula also planning to draw on SSC’s infrastructure, technical skills and operating experience.
The transaction is not yet complete. It remains subject to conditions including SSC’s due diligence, final sale and loan agreements and Section 11 consent from the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources.