ASX- and Aim-listed Sovereign Metals has published an updated mineral resource estimate (MRE) for the Kasiya project, in Malawi, which grew the combined measured and indicated rutile resources by 38% to 1.65-million tonnes.

The updated MRE delivers the classification standard required for a bankable definitive feasibility study (DFS) to be undertaken and marks the highest-confidence Joint Ore Reserves Committee Code category achieved at Kasiya for the first time. 

“This material improvement in resource confidence reflects the extensive infill drilling programmes completed and provides a robust base for the forthcoming DFS.

“Importantly, Kasiya has achieved a measured resource for the first time, which represents at least the first six years of planned operations,” Sovereign MD and CEO Frank Eagar says.

Total rutile mineral resources have increased to 2.1-billion tonnes, grading 0.96% rutile, for 20.3-million tonnes of contained rutile; and 2.1-billion tonnes, grading 0.95% total graphitic carbon, for 20-million tonnes of contained graphite.

Measured and indicated contained rutile alone increased by 32% in the latest MRE to 16.1-million tonnes – or 1.6-billion tonnes, grading 0.98% rutile.

Eager adds that the first-ever measured status of resources reflects both the quality of the geological dataset and the exceptional nature of the Kasiya deposit.

“The rigour of the updated resource estimation gives our strategic and commercial partners high confidence in the resource base underpinning the 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,” he states.

Natural rutile is a critical mineral that is essential for titanium metal production for aerospace, defence and medical applications.

Notably, natural rutile commands a significant premium over alternative titanium feedstocks owing to its superior grade, lower processing costs and smaller environmental footprint.

Eager says there is no meaningful domestic production of natural rutile in key consuming nations, therefore, Kasiya’s scale and quality bodes well as one of the most strategically important sources of natural rutile outside of current producing regions.