ASX- and Aim-listed Sovereign Metals has reported that its second year of rehabilitation trials at the Kasiya rutile/graphite project, in Malawi, is nearing completion. 

In a statement to shareholders, Sovereign says its pilot mining, backfilling and rehabilitation programme is a key workstream and input into the definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the project, which is being completed under the oversight of the Sovereign-Rio Tinto technical committee.

The company explains that rehabilitation trials provide practical, multi-year evidence demonstrating Sovereign's alignment with international rehabilitation, environmental and community good practice standards.

The company says empirical data from the trials has been used to prepare the mine closure and mine rehabilitation plans, which are now integrated into the mining, backfilling and post-mining closure planning – critical components for project bankability and alignment with the standards required by development finance institutions.

The rehabilitation programme has also contributed to a significant community development outcome, says Sovereign.

After two years of close collaboration, the company says the 28 local farmers involved in the trials have formally requested that Sovereign remain at the trial site and support them in establishing a farming cooperative.

The company says this represents a strong community endorsement of the programme's value and is a central pillar of Kasiya's post-closure social transition strategy, demonstrating that the project can deliver lasting economic benefits to local communities well beyond the mine life.

Sovereign says the outcomes directly complement the recently announced collaboration with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, which is supporting integration of IFC Performance Standards into the project's DFS and environmental- and social-impact assessment (ESIA) and strengthening Kasiya's pathway to bankable development and international project financing.

Sovereign MD and CEO Frank Eagar comments that Sovereign's primary objective is to deliver sustainable returns for all stakeholders, including shareholders and local communities.

“Not only will the overwhelming success and empirical data collected through this pilot mining and rehabilitation trial underpin the DFS accuracy, but it also demonstrates that land post-mining can be successfully rehabilitated and our ability to improve agricultural productivity.

“The five-fold increase in maize yields will enable unprecedented and immediate secondary economic benefits.

“The emerging cooperative model is a practical example of our commitment in action –

 transforming mined land into more productive farmland while equipping local communities with the skills and infrastructure to thrive independently,” he says.