Chilwa strikes paydirt at Mpyupyu resource upgrade
Chilwa Minerals (ASX:CHW) has reported its Mpyupyu heavy mineral sands deposit has more than doubled to 109.6 million tonnes (Mt) following infill sonic drilling at the Chilwa project in Malawi.
The updated mineral resource estimate (MRE) shows that 89% of the deposit now falls within the measured and indicated categories, positioning Mpyupyu as the company’s first potential development front.
Total contained heavy mineral concentrate increased 62% to 3.61Mt, dominated by ilmenite and zircon.
The resource comprises 24.5Mt measured, 73.6Mt indicated, and 11.6Mt inferred at a 1.0% total heavy minerals (THM) cut-off. A ‘high-grade’ core of 50.6Mt at 4.65% THM lies within the broader resource at a 3.0% cut-off.
“This is a defining step in Chilwa’s transition from explorer to potential developer,” Managing Director Cadell Buss says.
“In a single update, Mpyupyu has become our largest deposit and the natural starting point for development within the Chilwa Critical Minerals Project.”
Unlocking the Mpyupyu opportunity
The deposit consists of two mineralised domains: (1) the higher-grade Dune area in the southwest and (2) the Flat area towards the northeast. The Dune domain contains measured resources of 12.82Mt at 5.03% THM, providing a ‘high-grade’ core to the deposit.
QEMSCAN analysis confirms monazite throughout all composite areas, establishing the basis for evaluating rare earth element (REE) by-product economics alongside industrial minerals ilmenite, rutile, and zircon.
The analysis allows quantification of contained monazite and distinguishes leucoxene and garnet within the heavy mineral assemblage.
Mpyupyu sits within approximately 1km of the Nakombe niobium-REE discovery on the same contiguous licence. Sonic drilling is underway at the newly identified Mpyupyu West target, where heavy mineral sands mineralisation has been mapped over approximately 5km2.
The company is progressing a Scoping Study for the Mpyupyu deposit, expected in Q3 of 2026.
Chilwa Minerals’ strategy involves bringing heavy mineral sands into production first, with the resulting cash flow and shared infrastructure helping to fund and de-risk niobium, REE, and ionic clay programs.
The consolidated MRE across all deposits on the licence now totals 171.8Mt at 3.44% THM, containing 5.91Mt of heavy mineral concentrate. Approximately 85% of the total resource across all deposits is now classified as measured and indicated.
Write to JC Villarba at Mining.com.au
Images: Chilwa Minerals
