Fortuna Metals Identifies Significant Historical Titanium Mineralisation in Malawi

Fortuna Metals (ASX: FUN) has unearthed significant mineralisation upside with a desktop review of its Mkanda and Kampini rutile and graphite projects in Malawi.

The study has identified 19 historical drill holes with high titanium values in previous metallurgical test work Sovereign Metals (ASX: SVM) conducted at the Malingunde graphite project in 2018.

The Mkanda and Kampini licences were part of a larger tenement that Sovereign rationalised as it went on to discover and drill out the world’s largest rutile deposit at Kasiya, approximately 40 kilometres to the north.

Phase 1 Program Complete

Fortuna has completed its initial Phase 1 program of 232 soil samples, and hand auger drilling of 63 holes for 581 metres.

Comprehensive mineralogical analysis is currently underway at ALS Perth to determine the rutile content in the heavy mineral concentrate of these samples.

The company anticipates first assay results in November, and then regularly thereafter through to January 2026.

Fortuna holds the majority of the most prospective geology extending across 70km of strike south of Kasiya.

‘Widespread Rutile Potential’

“The titanium results from the historical drilling validate the prospectivity for widespread rutile potential across our projects in Malawi,” chief executive officer Tom Langley said.

When viewed in conjunction with the historical mineralogical work at Kasiya, Mr Langley believes there is strong potential for rutile to occur over large areas at both the Mkanda and Kampini projects.

“Our own drilling will be critical in verifying the historical results and rutile mineralogy, and then stepping out into areas that have never been drilled,” he said.

The projects have excellent proximity to essential infrastructure, with the central region being approximately 20km from the capital city of Lilongwe.

Rail access is as close as 11km at the project’s northernmost boundary, with high-capacity power lines 15km away and plentiful fresh water available.

Second Phase Imminent

Fortuna’s second phase will include the purchase and reprocessing of existing geophysical data from the Malawian government.

The company will also conduct an assessment of past exploration reports, geophysical data, using this and its own Phase 1 results to design a more extensive hand auger drilling program.

Fortuna is also preparing to establish a low-cost in-country laboratory, where it will prepare the samples for heavy mineral separation, magnetic separation, and X-ray fluorescence analysis, before sending them to an external laboratory for further analysis.

One of the principal feedstocks for pigment production, titanium metal, welding electrodes, and advanced manufacturing, natural rutile is currently selling for as much as US$1,700 per tonne.

Forecasts estimate the titanium metal market will grow at an annual compound rate of 6.5% from its current US$30b value to US$54b by 2034.