Sovereign Metals (ASX:SVM) has delivered the first 30 tonnes of ore from the Kasiya Rutile-Graphite Project in Malawi, to engineering consultancy laboratory Paterson and Cooke in Cape Town, South Africa.
The $264.61 million market capitalisation company says the material is representative of ore expected to be mined in the first 10 years of production and will be used for advanced bulk laboratory scale testwork to optimise technical elements of a Prefeasibility Study (PFS) at Kasiya.
These areas include ‘larger scale’ pumping, tailings characteristics, and dewatering.
Paterson and Cooke’s (P&C) laboratory in Cape Town has a pipe loop facility that will be used to test specific parameters related to the mining, transportation, and handling of Kasiya ore.
Managing Director Frank Eagar says: “This represents a significant step in our ongoing project delivery. Importantly, it also demonstrates the effectiveness of the day-to-day technical involvement of our strategic investor, Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO), in assisting Sovereign with the Kasiya Project optimisation and bringing this tier one project closer to development.”
The project team, including Sovereign and Rio Tinto, designed the testwork program which has been approved by the technical committee.
The technical committee provides recommendations and advice on technical matters relating to the project, which was established in line with an investment agreement between both companies, following Rio Tinto’s $40.4 million investment into Sovereign to become a 15% strategic investor.
Sovereign Metals is focused on its flagship Kasiya project in Malawi and developing a ‘large-scale’, long life rutile-graphite operation.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Sovereign Metals
