Sovereign Metals is expanding its already world-class $1.6bn Kasiya rutile and graphite deposit

70+ hole augur drilling campaign kicked off to the north of the Kasiya resource
Project already contains the largest natural rutile, second largest graphite deposit in the world
8km-long extension to mineralisation has also been identified to the south

Special Report: Follow up augur drilling north of Sovereign Metals’ Kasiya rutile and graphite resource in Malawi has kicked off, designed to target new areas where mineralisation has been identified.

Kasiya, the largest natural rutile deposit and second-largest flake graphite deposit in the world, has a current resource of 1.8 billion tonnes @ 1% rutile and 1.4% graphite, comprised of broad and contiguous zones of high-grade mineralisation that occurs across >201km2.

A PFS released late last year showed the deposit’s potential to produce 222,000tpa of rutile and 244,000tpa of natural graphite across a 25-year life of mine.

That would make SVM the world largest graphite and rutile producers, with costs right down the bottom of the cost curve. Its tier 1 potential has attracted mining behemoth Rio Tinto, which purchased a 15% stake in the company mid last year.

Resource extensions

SVM is now looking to expand that current mineral resource estimate (MRE) at regional targets north and south of the current deposit.

A 70+ hole hand-auger drill program has been designed to target areas up to 20km north of the current MRE boundary where mineralisation was identified in earlier wide-spaced regional hand-auger drilling.

Drilling is currently underway with four hand-auger teams deployed under the supervision of SVM’s in-country technical team and will be completed in the coming weeks.

The explorer also recently identified an 8km extension of mineralisation to the south of the deposit.

All newly defined mineralisation in the south remains open at depth due to the limitations of the hand-auger drilling method but are expected to continue to the saprock boundary normally between 20-30m straight down from surface.