NEWS RELEASE
I 27 MARCH
2024
FOLLOW-UP DRILLING INITIATED NORTH
OF KASIYA RESOURCE AREA
· Wide-spaced regional
follow-up drilling for the Kasiya Project underway focusing on the
region to the north of the current resource footprint, with results
from the drill program expected in the coming
weeks
· Recently reported
reconnaissance drilling to the south identified an 8km extension of
mineralisation which remains open along strike and at
depth
· Kasiya is already the largest
natural rutile deposit and second-largest flake graphite deposit in
the world
· Kasiya's current MRE of 1.8
Billion tonnes at 1.0% rutile and 1.4% graphite comprises broad and
contiguous zones of high-grade rutile and graphite that occur
across an area of over 201km2
· Optimisation program for the
Kasiya Project continues in conjunction with our strategic
investor, Rio Tinto
Sovereign Metals Limited (ASX:SVM;
AIM:SVML) (the Company or Sovereign) is pleased to report that
the Company has initiated a follow-up 400 metre spaced drill
program at its tier one Kasiya Rutile-Graphite Project
(Kasiya) in Malawi. The
program will focus on determining the boundaries and extent of
mineralisation north of the known Mineral Resource Estimate
(MRE) area.
The 70+ hole hand-auger drill
program has been designed to target areas where mineralisation was
identified in earlier wide-spaced regional hand-auger drilling. The
target area is up to 20km north of the current MRE boundary.
Drilling is currently underway and will be completed in the coming
weeks. Four hand-auger teams have been deployed under the
supervision of Sovereign's in-country technical team.
Samples will be initially processed
in the Company's Lilongwe own lab facility and then shipped for
final analysis at certified international laboratories. Results
from the drill program are expected in the coming weeks.
In February 2024, the Company
announced regional hand-auger drilling
south of the Kasiya MRE footprint had identified significant strike
extensions of approximately 8km across a number of parallel
mineralised zones ranging from 400m to 2km in width.
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 and 30 vertical metres from
surface. The multiple mineralised zones identified remain open
along strike both to the north and south.
These results indicate the potential
to expand the already significant, high-grade rutile and graphite
MRE at Kasiya.
Figure 1: Southern
mineralised extensions at Kasiya
ENQUIRIES
Frank Eagar (South
Africa/Malawi)
Managing Director
+61(8) 9322 6322
|
Sam Cordin (Perth)
+61(8) 9322 6322
|
Sapan Ghai (London)
+44 207 478 3900
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Nominated Adviser on AIM and
Joint Broker
|
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SP Angel Corporate Finance
LLP
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+44 20 3470 0470
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Ewan Leggat
Charlie Bouverat
Harry Davies-Ball
|
|
|
|
Joint
Brokers
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|
Stifel
|
+44 20 7710 7600
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Varun Talwar
|
|
Ashton Clanfield
|
|
|
|
Berenberg
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+44 20 3207 7800
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Matthew Armitt
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Jennifer Lee
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|
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Buchanan
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+ 44 20 7466 5000
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Competent Person Statement
The information in this announcement that relates to the
Exploration Results is extracted from the announcement dated 1
February 2024 entitled 'Extensions to Rutile & Graphite
Mineralisation at Kasiya'. which is available to view
at www.sovereignmetals.com.au.
Sovereign confirms that a) it is not aware of any new information
or data that materially affects the information included in the
original announcement; b) all material assumptions included in the
original announcement continue to apply and have not materially
changed; and c) the form and context in which the relevant
Competent Persons' findings are presented in this announcement have
not been materially changed from the original
announcement.
The information in this announcement that relates to the
Mineral Resource Estimate is extracted from an announcement dated 5
April 2023 entitled 'Kasiya Indicated Resource Increased by over
80%' which is available to view at www.sovereignmetals.com.au
and is based on,
and fairly represents information compiled by Mr Richard Stockwell,
a Competent Person, who is a fellow of the Australian Institute of
Geoscientists (AIG). Mr Stockwell is a principal of Placer
Consulting Pty Ltd, an independent consulting company. The original
announcement is available to view on www.sovereignmetals.com.au.
Sovereign confirms that a) it is not aware of any new information
or data that materially affects the information included in the
original announcement; b) all material assumptions included in the
original announcement continue to apply and have not materially
changed; and c) the form and context in which the relevant
Competent Persons' findings are presented in this announcement have
not been materially changed from the original
announcement.
The information in this announcement that relates to
Production Targets, Ore Reserves, Processing, Infrastructure and
Capital Operating Costs, Metallurgy (rutile and graphite) is
extracted from an announcement dated 28 September 2023 entitled
'Kasiya Pre-Feasibility Study Results' which is available to view
at www.sovereignmetals.com.au
and is based on,
and fairly represents information compiled by . Sovereign confirms
that: a) it is not aware of any new information or data that
materially affects the information included in the original
announcement; b) all material assumptions and technical parameters
underpinning the Production Target, and related forecast financial
information derived from the Production Target included in the
original announcement continue to apply and have not materially
changed; and c) the form and context in which the relevant
Competent Persons' findings are presented in this presentation have
not been materially modified from the original
announcement.
Ore
Reserve for the Kasiya Deposit
|
|
Classification
|
Tonnes
(Mt)
|
Rutile Grade
(%)
|
Contained Rutile
(Mt)
|
Graphite Grade (TGC)
(%)
|
Contained Graphite
(Mt)
|
RutEq. Grade*
(%)
|
Proved
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Probable
|
538
|
1.03%
|
5.5
|
1.66%
|
8.9
|
2.00%
|
Total
|
538
|
1.03%
|
5.5
|
1.66%
|
8.9
|
2.00%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
* RutEq. Formula: Rutile Grade x
Recovery (100%) x Rutile Price (US$1,484/t) + Graphite Grade x
Recovery (67.5%) x Graphite Price (US$1,290/t) / Rutile Price
(US$1,484/t). All assumptions are taken from the PFS ** Any minor
summation inconsistencies are due to rounding
Kasiya Total Indicated +
Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate at 0.7% rutile cut-off
grade
|
Classification
|
Resource
(Mt)
|
Rutile Grade
(%)
|
Contained Rutile
(Mt)
|
Graphite Grade (TGC)
(%)
|
Contained Graphite
(Mt)
|
Indicated
|
1,200
|
1.0%
|
12.2
|
1.5%
|
18.0
|
Inferred
|
609
|
0.9%
|
5.7
|
1.1%
|
6.5
|
Total
|
1,809
|
1.0%
|
17.9
|
1.4%
|
24.4
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Forward Looking Statement
This release may include forward-looking statements, which may
be identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates",
"believes", "projects", "plans", and similar expressions. These
forward-looking statements are based on Sovereign's expectations
and beliefs concerning future events. Forward looking statements
are necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors,
many of which are outside the control of Sovereign, which could
cause actual results to differ materially from such statements.
There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will
prove to be correct. Sovereign makes no undertaking to subsequently
update or revise the forward-looking statements made in this
release, to reflect the circumstances or events after the date of
that release.