Fox Marble has signed a sales deal with Zhong Shengdestone (ZSC), which is headquartered in Beijing. This should see Fox Marble earn incremental revenues of between US$2.5 million and US$5.0 million if sales through ZSC hit minimum target levels.

The agreement initially covers 2015 and sees ZSC granted exclusive rights to sell Fox Marble’s block marble in China, conditional on ZSC selling a minimum of 10,000 tonnes of marble per annum.

The rate will be checked quarterly and if it falls below the target for the year, Fox Marble has the right to seek out other distributors in China, effectively ending the exclusivity aspect of the agreement.

As well as serving as a middleman, ZSC purchases marble for its own account, and hopes to exceed the 10,000 tonne minimum quantity specified through purchases for its own account. This seems highly likely as ZSC purchased more than 100,000 tonnes of marble last year.

Fox Marble’s CEO Chris Gilbert says, “We are pleased to have finalized an agreement with a company in China, which itself is a buyer of marble as well as having extensive relationships with other significant buyers who have indicated their interest in our stone.

“These buyers will be visiting our quarries in Kosovo after the Chinese New Year (February 2015) in order to start selecting blocks under the terms of the agreement. China is a large market and this arrangement forms part of our planned strategy to sell our stone around the world.”

Fox Marble operates in Kosovo and the Balkans region of Eastern Europe.