Fortuna Metals (ASX:FUN) has begun metallurgical test work at its Mkanda Rutile and Graphite Project in Malawi, targeting rutile concentrate grades exceeding 95%.
The company has engaged Mineral Technologies in Johannesburg to process a five-tonne bulk sample through a conventional mineral sands flowsheet at the project, located near Sovereign Metals’ (ASX:SVM) Kasiya deposit.
CEO Tom Langley says the company aims to fast-track potential offtake agreements with premium titanium metal customers.
“We are continuing to push our exploration efforts at the Mkanda rutile project as we await drilling results for the remaining 90% of drillholes still to come in,” Langley says.
“Completing metallurgical testwork is a key step to fast tracking potential offtake agreements with high quality customers in the titanium sponge/titanium metal market used in aerospace, defence, and advanced manufacturing.”
The company has completed 675 drillholes across 180km² at Mkanda, with drilling conducted on 800m and 400m spacing. Results from 534 shallow composite assays between 0-2m depth are pending.
Fortuna plans to use these shallow results to guide priority analysis of remaining drill samples, targeting a potential maiden inferred resource in the second half of 2026.
“We aim to follow the same exploration and development pathway as our neighbour Sovereign Metals has with the Kasiya deposit but shorten the timeframe,” Langley adds.
“We have proven this by rapidly drilling Mkanda on a 400m x 400m grid within three months since acquiring the project, to allow us to potentially put an inferred resource out in the second half of this year.”
The Mkanda and Kampini projects cover 658km² in Malawi, immediately south of Sovereign Metals’ Kasiya Rutile Project.
The company plans to begin aircore drilling in May 2026 to infill ‘high-grade’ areas defined by hand auger results.
Fortuna Metals is a mineral explorer with a focus on the discovery of critical minerals in Malawi, Africa.
Edited by Amy Rotman.
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Images: Fortuna Metals
