Under the terms of the agreement, Kibaran and Richland will undertake due diligence and work towards legally binding agreements to consolidate their respective graphite assets in the Merelani region in a joint venture.
The Richland groups’ Merelani graphite assets are located within the mining license area jointly licensed on a 50/50 basis to Richland’s wholly owned subsidiary TanzaniteOne Mining and the State Mining (STAMICO) a Tanzanian government parastatal.
The negotiations aim to merge graphite mineral rights and assets, which comprise TanzaniteOne Mining’s graphite processing plant, with the goal of recommencing graphite production.
Kibaran will be provided with a second source of graphite in Tanzania as well as a clear strategy to expand the Company’s future graphite production with the new joint venture.
Kibarans executive director Andrew Spinks said, "Following the recent milestone achievement of a signed binding off-take agreement for Epanko graphite, we are pleased to be in negotiations to progress the Company’s Merelani-Arusha Graphite Project with the Richland group – the owners of the historical Merelani Graphite Mine."
Under the MoU, Kibaran has a 90-day exclusive due diligence period which will include evaluation of the processing plant and the cost of refurbishment to return it to operational status for graphite production.
Richland chief executive officer Bernard Olivier said. "Our team in Tanzania led by Ami Mpungwe the Chairman of TanzaniteOne Mining Limited are looking forward to working with Kibaran with a view to commercialising the graphite potential of the Merelani mine for the benefit of TanzaniteOne Mining and STAMICO."
