Sovereign Metals’ high-grade Kasiya rutile project attracts full Malawi Government support
Malawi’s Honourable Minister of Mining Rashid Gaffar said the government “fully supports” Sovereign Metals and its plans at Kasiya.
Sovereign Metals (ASX: SVM) has added another feather to its cap as it advances the high-grade Kasiya rutile project in Malawi with the country’s Minister of Mining paying the project a site visit.
The company’s managing director Dr Julian Stephens hosted the official Malawian government delegation at the site.
Malawi’s Honourable Minister of Mining Rashid Gaffar headed the government delegation to Kasiya where core drilling is ongoing.
Dr Stephens continued discussions with Mr Gaffar along with the Republic of Malawi’s Right Honourable Vice President Dr Saulos Klaus Chilima regarding the company’s development strategy for Kasiya.
Commenting on the visit, Dr Stephens had been a “pleasure” to host the delegation at the company’s world class rutile project.
“The minister’s visit and the meeting with the Right Honourable Vice President Dr Chilima shows significant support from the Malawi Government as we look forward to continued close co-operation with all stakeholders as we work towards our objective of becoming a supplier of premium grade natural rutile to the global titanium markets,” Dr Stephens added.
Meanwhile, Mr Gaffar noted the Malawi Government was committed to developing the country’s mining industry and “fully supports” Sovereign’s efforts at Kasiya, which has the potential to “contribute significantly” to the economy.
Advancing Kasiya rutile project
In early June, Sovereign debuted a maiden resource for Kasiya which places it as one of the world’s largest rutile deposits.
The resource totals 644 million tonnes at 1.01% rutile for 6.5Mt of contained metal.
Within this is a higher-grade component of 137Mt at 1.41% rutile for 1.9Mt.
Dr Stephens described this as a “remarkable” result for the company to unveil a resource of this scale and grade within 18 months of discovery.
He added this resource was only “just the beginning” with “substantial” growth expected.
Sovereign is powering ahead with a scoping study at Kasiya to take advantage of expected demand in the coming years.
Engineering firm DRA Global is leading the study with other contributing consultants including Orelogy Mining for scheduling and pit optimisation, Paragon Tailings (mining method and tailings management), Epoch Resources (tailings disposal), Allied Minerals Laboratories (flowsheet development and metallurgy), Dhamana Consulting (environmental and social services) and TZMI (marketing).
The study is scheduled for completion later this year.