Marula Mining PLC - Budget Approved for NCLT Tungsten Project

Marula Mining PLC

("Marula'' or the "Company")

10 June 2026

Tungsten Exploration and Mine Development Budget Approved for NCLT Tungsten Project

Marula Mining PLC (AQSE: MARU A2X: MAR) an African focused mining and development company, is pleased to announce that its Board of Directors has approved a US$ 8.10 million budget and work programme for tungsten exploration and mine and process plant development works to commence at the Northern Cape Lithium and Tungsten (Pty) Limited Project ("NCLT Project") located in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa.

The NCLT Project is wholly owned by the Company through its South African subsidiary, Southern African Lithium and Tantalum Mining (Pty) Limited ("SALT"), extends over 15,000 hectares and is located contiguous to and immediately north of the Company's Blesberg Lithium and Tantalum Mine and the Blesberg Extension Prospecting Right, offering significant operational synergies through shared infrastructure and processing capabilities.

The approved exploration budget and mine and process plant works program is scheduled to be completed over a period of 14 months in two phases, and takes the NCLT Project through to the planned initial production of a high-grade tungsten concentrate. Exploration activities are planned to be extended over a total 12-month period and will primarily focus on known high-grade tungsten mineralisation identified across several former mining operations and defined projects with the NCLT Project.

The Company is aiming to complete the initial Phase 1 exploration activities and confirmatory technical and resource estimation studies during the initial 7-month period at a cost of approx. US$2.0 million. Contingent on a positive results from this work, the commencement of the Phase 2 works is to start with civil works for the process plant and the installation and commissioning of the crushing and screening and dense media separation and cyclone plant with a total estimated capital cost of US$6.10 million. First production of a 70% concentrate from the Kaalbeen and Isis Tungsten Mines is scheduled to forecast within 14 months after the commencement of the exploration activities based on the approved mine and process plant works program.

The Directors believe that the exploration and confirmatory technical and resource estimation studies in Phase 1 will be positive and allow a firm mine development decision to be made for the Phase 2 works, given the previous mining, processing and concentrate production and sales from the Kaalbeen and Isis Tungsten Mines, and the historical exploration work and geological studies completed.

Approval of the total US$8.10 million budget and work programme for the NCLT Project remains subject to finalisation of standalone funding. There can be no guarantee that such funding will be secured, or secured on terms acceptable to the Company.

The breakdown of the approved exploration budget and mine and process plant works program is summarised below.

The approval of the exploration commencement of these exploration activities follows earlier work completed last year at the NCLT Project which included site inspections by the Company's Executive Management, Chairman and geological team. This involved a review of the open pit and underground workings at the Kaalbeen and Isis Tungsten Mines and observations of tungsten mineralisation at the nearby Koubank, Kaalbeen West and Armbank tungsten deposits as well as a site visit to the Spodumene Kop lithium deposit.

This previous work and a review of historical information from the South African Council for Geosciences, as well as the signing of the Surface Use Agreement and Water Use Agreement with the Vioolsdrift Communal Property Association as announced on 25 June 2025, has allowed the Company to now finalise the budget and work program for H2 2026 and 2027 for the NCLT Project.

The NCLT Project area hosts:

§ 16 known tungsten deposits and former high-grade tungsten mining operations including the Kaalbeen and Isis Tungsten Mines and the Koubank, Kaalbeen West and Armbank Tungsten Deposits, all of which are located within 5 kilometres ("kms") to 10kms of Blesberg.

§ The Spodumene Kop II Pegmatite located 6kms from Blesberg, which was previously mined to shallow depths of just 5 metres ("m") for its spodumene ore, tantalite and beryl and where historical non-JORC compliant resources have been identified down to initial depths of 30m.

§ The Groendoorn Pegmatite Field which includes approx. 30 small pegmatites, of which half are well zoned and mineralised with the other half weakly zoned. These pegmatites have been observed to contain spodumene, tantalite, beryl, feldspar and mica, and where small-scale mining was undertaken up to the 1960s.

The NCLT Project's mineralogy spans a broad spectrum of strategic and critical minerals, including tungsten, tantalum, lithium, cobalt, copper, niobium, tin, vanadium, platinum group metals and rare earth-bearing minerals.

Significantly, historically reported scheelite tungsten mineralisation at the Kaalbeen and Isis Tungsten Mines recorded grades of 2%-3% WO₃, and tungsten concentrates historically produced at Kaalbeen of 74% WO₃, which are higher than those being reported by comparable tungsten projects currently being advanced through to production globally.

Phase 1 Exploration Activities

Phase 1 will be conducted over approximately seven months from a planned commencement in July 2026 and is designed to systematically validate, characterise and sample all known mineralisation across the NCLT Project area.

It comprises these principal workstreams:

§ Reconnaissance Fieldwork. This programme will entail detailed geological mapping at 1:10,000 to 1:5,000 scale across all 16 known tungsten deposits and lithium-bearing pegmatite targets, Rock chip and grab sampling, Structural mapping programme and full Quality Assurance and Quality Control protocol.

§ Geophysical Surveys. This programme will entail airborne and ground magnetic, radiometric, electromagnetic and Ortho-photogrammetry surveys all covering approximately 2,535 line-kms.

§ Trenching and Bulk Sampling. Works in this programme will include mechanical pitting and trenching, channel sampling of all trench exposures with multi-element ICP analysis, bulk sampling for initial metallurgical test work, mapping of exposed mineralisation and backfilling and site rehabilitation.

§ The Company to undertake civil works for processing plant foundations and site preparation.

Phase 2

Phase 2 is anticipated to commence in from month 7, following a decision to proceed and  interpretation and integration of the Phase 1 exploration results, and is expected to be completed within 8 months, with first tungsten concentrate production within approx. 14 months of the commencement of the Phase 1 exploration activities.

Phase 2 covers these major workstreams:

§ Drilling Program. Which is expected to include a programme of 124 diamond drill holes (HQ/NQ core) at an average depth of 100m, site establishment and de-establishment at the start and end of the drilling programme, full geochemical analysis of all drill samples with comprehensive Quality Assurance and Quality Control.

§ Metallurgical and Technical Studies. Bulk Sampling and Mineralogy studies (QEMSCAN / XRD) and a comprehensive metallurgical test work programme.

§ Resource Estimation and Competent Person's Report.

§ Mobilisation of heavy mobile equipment procurement is scheduled from month 5 onwards. Which will include JCB JS205 tracked excavator, JCB 455ZX wheel loader, Bell B18E articulated dump trucks and Toyota Fortuner field vehicle.

§ The issue of the Mining Permit is scheduled to be completed in month 9.

§ The purchase, installation and commissioning of the process plant, including a new crushing and screening circuit and conventional dense media separation and cyclone plant is scheduled to commence from month 7.

§ The preliminary design and capital cost estimates for the Processing plant have been estimated by the Company's General Manager of Operations South Africa and based on an initial run-of-mine production rate of 15,000 tonnes per month to produce between 50 to 100 tonnes per month of tungsten concentrates.

§ The low capital costs for the purchase and installation of the processing plant is due to the existing plant and infrastructure at the Blesberg Lithium and Tantalum Mine, which includes both the RADOS and TOMRA XRT Ore Sorters and which are both proven technology in the recovery and separation of tungsten ores.

The Board regards the current global tungsten market and pricing environment as highly supportive of the NCLT Project's development timeline and its potential to attract significant strategic and institutional interest.

Tungsten has entered what certain analysts are characterising as a structural high-price era in 2026, following an exceptional commodity cycle in which certain tungsten derivatives recorded price gains in excess of 200% during 2025, with US prices reaching approximately US$111,519 per metric tonne in Q1 2026.

The global tungsten market size was valued at USD 5.43 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow to USD 9.19 billion by 2034, at a CAGR of 6.0%, driven by expanding demand across mining, construction, automotive, aerospace and advanced manufacturing sectors where tungsten's exceptional hardness and thermal stability make it increasingly indispensable.

China accounts for approximately 80% of global tungsten production, and its introduction of the "Dual-Use Items Catalog" in January 2026 imposing sweeping new export controls on high-purity tungsten powders, compounding the effect of a 6.5% cut in domestic mining quotas in 2025, creating a persistent and deepening supply-demand imbalance.

China International Capital Corporation ("CICC") forecasts the global supply-demand gap will exceed 17% of annual demand between 2026 and 2028. Against this backdrop, the United States Department of Defense classifies tungsten as a critical defence material, and both the European Union and United States are actively pursuing supply chain diversification away from Chinese sources. The Board believes this structural environment, combined with the NCLT Project's historically high-grade deposits and fully scoped two-phase programme, positions Marula exceptionally well to meet growing global demand for conflict-free tungsten supply.

Jason Brewer, Marula Mining PLC CEO said:

"The approval of this budget for the NCLT Project represents our commitment to advancing what we believe is a strategically compelling exploration assets in our portfolio.

The current tungsten market, driven by supply-side constraints and growing Western demand for critical minerals, provides an exceptional background for the development of our high-grade tungsten deposits.

Combined with the lithium and tantalum potential across our extensive licence area, and the significant operational advantages of our proximity to Blesberg, we are well positioned to create meaningful value for our shareholders from this asset.

We look forward to reporting on progress as the work programme gets underway."

The Directors of Marula are responsible for the contents of this announcement. This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of UK Market Abuse Regulation.

ENDS

About Marula Mining

Marula Mining (AQSE: MARU A2X: MAR) is an African focused battery metals investment and exploration company and has interests in several high value critical mineral mining operations and mine development and exploration projects in East and Southern Africa. As we advance operations at these battery metals focused projects, Marula will continue to build and expand its interests in other high-quality projects in Africa.

Marula's strategy is to identify and invest in advanced and high-value mining projects throughout East, and Southern Africa that the Directors believe would deliver returns for its shareholders. The Board and management team aims to establish Marula as a socially and environmentally responsible, sustainable, and profitable producer of critical metals and commodities that are of increasingly strategic importance to modern technologies and the global economy. Marula's shares are traded on AQUIS Stock Exchange ("AQSE") in London and A2X Markets in South Africa.

Caution:

Certain statements in this announcement, are, or may be deemed to be, forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as ''believe'', ''could'', "should" ''envisage'', ''estimate'', ''intend'', ''may'', ''plan'', ''potentially'', "expect", ''will'' or the negative of those, variations or comparable expressions, including references to assumptions. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts but rather on the Directors' current expectations and assumptions regarding the Company's future growth, results of operations, performance, future capital and other expenditures (including the amount, nature and sources of funding thereof), competitive advantages, business prospects and opportunities. Such forward looking statements reflect the Directors' current beliefs and assumptions and are based on information currently available to the Directors.