Southern African Lithium and Tantalum Mining (SALT), a subsidiary of Marula Mining, has secured a mining permit for the Blesberg lithium and tantalum mine in South Africa.

The permit, valid until 24 May 2026, has been granted by the South African Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE).

It covers five hectares and allows for the development and open-pit mining of lithium, tantalum, niobium ores and feldspar.

Located in the Northern Cape province, the Blesberg project is considered one of the largest known mineralised pegmatite deposits. It has also been the largest source of tantalum in the country.

The newly acquired mining permit complements the existing approval for stockpile reprocessing operations at the Blesberg mine.

Marula Mining, which plans to advance open-pit mining and development activities, is also seeking the DMRE's final approval for the broader Mining Right application.

Marula Mining is moving forward with initial surface development and clearance activities, with plans to start open-pit development and conventional mining operations.

The company is currently in the process of selecting a local mining contractor for the development work and open pit mining operations. The contractor is expected to be finalised within the current quarter.

Historically, the Blesberg mine produced spodumene concentrate (containing lithium) along with tantalite, feldspar, bismuth, beryl and mica. Samples from 2016 revealed lithium oxide deposits assayed between 1.27% and 6.42%.

In August 2023, Marula Mining approved a nearly R26m ($1.37m) resource drilling exploration and mine planning programme at the Blesberg mine.

This programme featured an airborne geophysics study across the prospecting licence and new licence areas at the project, and 2,900m, 38-hole diamond drilling, exploration trenching and geological modelling.