UK- and South Africa-listed Marula Mining has appointed local professional Benard Kiprotich as mine manager for the Larisoro manganese mine, in Kenya, which is managed by Marula’s wholly-owned subsidiary Muchai Mining Kenya.
His appointment follows the company partnering with Kenyan manganese mine operator Gems and Industrial Minerals to buy new processing and mining equipment for the operation, as well as undertake an exploration programme.
Muchai has already progressed refurbishment and upgrade work to existing processing equipment on site after being awarded a mineral dealer’s trading licence granting it the right to buy, sell and export manganese ores.
Manganese ores to be bought by Marula under the licence will initially include the planned increased volumes of manganese ore mined and processed from the Larisoro mine. Marula will then sell the ore under new offtake agreements.
The term sheet agreement between the companies stipulates that Marula can earn an initial 60% commercial interest in the mine, which has been operational since 2012.
Kiprotich brings to the role hands-on experience having worked at a number of opencast quarrying and underground mining operations in Kenya over the last five years. He holds a mining and mineral processing engineering degree from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, in Kenya.
He will work with the geological team, which is headed by Collins Aseto, as well as Marula’s East Africa GM Edward Ruheni to ensure smooth and timely operations at Larisoro.