SIYAKHULA Sonke Empowerment Corporation (SSC Group), a South African diversified operating, mining and investment company founded by entrepreneur Fred Arendse, is preparing to acquire empowerment stakes worth R500 million ($30 million) in two Marula Mining projects in the Northern Cape, expanding its exposure to critical minerals as it moves deeper into direct mining ownership and operations.

The transaction will make Siyakhula Sonke Empowerment Corporation (SSC Group) the black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) partner in Marula’s Southern African Lithium and Tantalum Mining (SALT) and Northern Cape Lithium and Tungsten (NCLT) projects. The proposed partnership combines ownership participation with operational responsibilities at both mining ventures.

Two projects, $30 million deal

Under the proposed structure, B-BBEE investment vehicles led by SSC will acquire 30% of each project company. The stake in SALT carries a provisional purchase price of R300 million ($18 million), while the interest in NCLT is valued at R200 million ($12 million).

SSC will own 66.66% of each empowerment vehicle, with employee and community trusts holding 16.67% apiece. Marula and its South African subsidiary will finance the acquisitions through loans to the empowerment companies, allowing the partnership to establish the proposed ownership structure.

The arrangement also gives SSC a direct management role. The company will hold two of five board seats at each project company, participate in strategic and operational decisions, and receive first refusal rights to provide selected mining, exploration and technical services.

Arendse expands mining portfolio

Arendse, a former Anglo American Platinum transformation executive, founded SSC Group in 2005. The company initially built its business around mining services, human capital, engineering, underground mining and enterprise development before expanding into mining rehabilitation, industrial automation and direct investments in mining assets.

The Marula transaction follows SSC’s involvement in Neo Energy Metals’ proposed acquisition of the Beatrix 4 Shaft and Beisa uranium and gold project from Sibanye-Stillwater. SSC is also Neo Energy’s B-BBEE partner, giving Arendse’s group another position in South Africa’s mining ownership and development sector.

Neo Energy agreed in December 2024 to acquire the Beatrix 4 and Beisa assets for R500 million ($30 million), comprising R250 million in cash and R250 million in shares. Those shares were expected to give Sibanye-Stillwater an approximately 40% interest in Neo Energy when the agreement was announced.

SSC’s empowerment arrangement at Beisa was valued at R390 million ($23.4 million). The structure gave SSC an effective 20% interest in the project company, while employee and community trusts accounted for the remainder of the 30% B-BBEE holding.

Mining Charter drives ownership

South Africa’s 2018 Mining Charter requires mining rights holders to maintain at least 30% black ownership for new mining rights. Marula said its proposed partnership with SSC was structured to meet the requirement while bringing an established local mining operator into the development and management of its Northern Cape projects.

Arendse said the agreement would place meaningful ownership and operational responsibility in South African hands, describing SSC’s participation as that of an active shareholder rather than a passive empowerment investor.

Marula CEO Jason Brewer said the partnership went beyond meeting regulatory ownership requirements. The company expects to draw on SSC’s mining infrastructure, technical capabilities and operating experience as it advances its critical minerals projects.

Regulatory approval still pending

The transaction has not yet closed and remains subject to several conditions, including SSC’s due diligence, completion of final sale and loan agreements, and Section 11 approval from South Africa’s Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources.

Founded in 2005, SSC has developed into a diversified, black-owned mining services and investment group with interests across mining, engineering and industrial services. Its latest agreement with Marula extends that strategy into lithium, tantalum and tungsten, minerals increasingly important to battery manufacturing and industrial supply chains.

Marula Mining is an Africa-focused mining and exploration company developing critical minerals and battery metals projects across the continent. It shares trade on London’s Aquis Stock Exchange and South Africa’s A2X, with operations and development interests spanning Southern, Central and East Africa.