Sovereign Metals’ (ASX:SVM) Kasiya project in Malawi has been confirmed as the world’s largest natural rutile deposit with a significant increase to its mineral resource estimate.
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Kasiya’s measured and indicated resources have increased by 32% in the project’s latest MRE as the company progresses the asset to development.
Combined measured and indicated rutile resources have grown to some 1,652 million tonnes (Mt), making up 77% of the total resource base.
Sovereign’s MD and CEO, Frank Eagar, said the significant improvement in resource confidence reflects the extensive infill drilling completed and provides a robust foundation for a forthcoming definitive feasibility study.
“This updated MRE is a significant milestone for Sovereign as we advance Kasiya through the DFS. The 32% increase in measured and indicated contained rutile, together with our first-ever measured resource, reflects both the quality of our geological dataset and the exceptional nature of this deposit,” he said.
“The rigour of the updated estimation gives our strategic and commercial partners and us high confidence in the resource base underpinning our potential mine schedule.
“Kasiya remains unmatched globally as a source of natural rutile, and this MRE update reinforces its potential as a long-life, low-cost supplier to critical global supply chains.”
Sovereign plans to mine the resource in the first six years of operations and Mr Eagar said the resource upgrade has delivered the classification standard required for bankable DFS – a critical milestone on the path to project financing.
The Australian company believes Kasiya provides a uniquely diversified source of critical minerals essential to defence, industrial and energy security.
“The updated MRE demonstrates Kasiya’s potential to supply titanium-bearing rutile and graphite for several decades and its position as the world’s single most strategically important source of rutile,” Mr Eagar told shareholders.
Natural rutile is a critmin essential to titanium metal production for aerospace, defence and medical applications. According to leading titanium consultants, demand for rutile from the industry is forecast to grow 3% annually, while global supply is expected to decline by 7% per year over the next decade.
SVM is up +3.33% today, to 77.5¢. Mkt cap $485.2M.
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