JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Following last week’s dual listing of Shuka Minerals on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s (JSE's) AltX, two more JSE dual listings are on the way, mine developer Jason Brewer has outlined to Mining Weekly in an interview

As the CEO of Marula Mining, the executive chairperson of Neo Energy Metals, and holder of the deep-seated shareholding in Shuka, Brewer made it clear that the dual listings of Neo Energy Metals and Marula are next. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

“As a company that's operating here, we have to have a presence on the JSE, so today you've seen Shuka Minerals do the dual listing here. You'll see, very quickly, Neo Energy Metals do a dual listing here, and Marula as well move onto that main board here. I see South Africa very close to me, great opportunities, and you've got to be involved on the JSE to attract the necessary investor sentiment and support,” said Brewer, an Australian whose first job after graduating as a mining engineer was in South Africa.

Today, Marula’s Blesberg lithium tantalum mine in the Northern Cape has expanded extensively to include former tungsten mines, Neo’s transaction with Sibanye-Stillwater on the old Beatrix 4 uranium and adjoining licences is targeting a major next level, and Shuka is reworking a coal project in Tanzania and finalising the purchase of a lead, zinc, silver and vanadium mine in Zambia.

Mining Weekly: You seem to be here, there and everywhere when it comes to mining in East Africa, Southern Africa, Central Africa. What are the opportunities that you see? As an Australian does Africa excite you?

Brewer: It does, because Africa has those resources largely untapped, the potential just hasn't been realised. And look, a lot of infrastructure that many countries around the world are crying out for. So, it's got all the necessary ingredients for successful mine development.

What's the latest about the developments under way in South Africa?

South Africa's got something very close to my heart. I'm a mining engineer student, so my first job after graduating from university was here, with Gencor, out at the Kinross mine. So, it's always had a big part of my life and it's so good to be coming back so often. Here in South Africa with Marula Mining, we have our big Blesberg lithium tantalum mine up in the Northern Cape. We have expanded that from 1 800 ha up to 28 000 ha in the Northern Cape. We've picked up adjoining licences with former tungsten mines, so big critical metals focus there. Our intention in the Northern Cape is really to create that as a critical metals hub, a big processing facility there, processing the lithium, the tantalum, the tungsten and various other metals that we've identified in that area, hence why we've expanded so much. The Northern Cape is an incredible place. It really is, so very excited about that with Marula, and then with Neo Energy Metals. Again, Neo is a uranium-focused company. We've just done an incredible deal with Sibanye-Stillwater here on the old Beatrix 4 shaft, the Beisa uranium and the gold there, and on the adjoining licences there with Charlie Watt’s Sunshine Mineral Reserves. We see a great opportunity to become, effectively, South Africa's leading uranium producer over the course of the next 18 months. You’ve got the infrastructure, you've got the resources, you've got the skill sets, things you don't find in other places. South Africa offers a tremendous amount for what we're doing, where I'm driving, and I love it. With the energy that I find here, we can get things done.

What about this Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Over 100 years old, it does have something sacred about it. Do you find that?

It's the way of getting people to invest and support what we're doing. You've got to have that stakeholder involvement. You've got to have people that can see the operation and want to support it. The JSE’s played such an integral part in the growth of the mining sector here and in the many mining houses which built the economy of this country. It's actually been a shame to see the number of mining companies diminish so rapidly on that exchange, and I know it's come about largely from consolidation and a number of those companies moving their primary focus offshore, but I think the JSE offers so much, and it's such a tradition within the mining sector.

What about the regulatory environment? You seem to be active. Do you cut through all the red tape?

Sometimes you've got to go outside of a country to realise just how good you've got it. I come here and I hear people complaining about the regulatory framework, how hard it is to get prospecting rights and mining rights issued and so on. I mean, I was here, what, 10 years ago, involved in the coal side and trying to get the integrated water use licence was incredibly challenging. But I think people just need to take a deep breath. They need to go into some of the other African jurisdictions and then realise actually South Africa's got it. The rule of law works here, and you can work through it. It's very well laid out. I think now, with what they're doing with the mining cadastre system, a tremendous amount will be unlocked. I think some of the initiatives are also going to really promote that junior sector, that exploration sector, and hopefully more old mine redevelopments, that brownfield sector. The government needs to recognise that mining can contribute a significant amount to this economy, both in dollar terms, but also employment. That's the key thing here and if I can do my part with the various companies, grow our businesses, open up old mines, develop new mines, then I'm certainly happy to be here. The regulatory hurdles? They’re there to be jumped over. That's it.

URANIUM

The Beisa uranium endowment in the Free State reportedly contains large and undeveloped uranium and gold resources. Total inferred resources in the Beisa reef reportedly comprise 53.57-million tonnes with the total in situ value of the inferred uranium and gold resources reportedly valued at $17-billion-plus.

The Beisa projects extend over an area of 80 km² in the Witwatersrand basin, where uranium has been mined continuously for decades.

Marula’s Northern Cape lithium and tungsten project, which reportedly extends more than 15 000 ha, is north of Marula’s Blesberg mine and contiguous to the recently approved Blesberg extension prospecting right application.

Neo has appointed Theo Botoulas as its new CEO and executive director.