Sovereign Metals Ltd (ASX:SVM, OTC:SVMLF, AIM:SVML) has started infill drilling at the Kasiya Rutile-Graphite Project in Malawi focused on the southern section and aimed at upgrading mineral resources and supporting ongoing technical studies.
The aircore drilling, supported by push tube/diamond core and hand auger drilling, aims to upgrade the mineral resource estimate (MRE) at southern Kasiya from the indicated to the measured category, which will allow the conversion of ore reserves from the probable to the proven category.
This area around previously designated pits is planned to be used for Stage 1 production at Kasiya and is expected to provide ore feed for the first eight years of production of the project’s planned production schedule.
Resource upgrade on the way
A resource upgrade is expected to be delivered for the project in early 2025.
Managing director Frank Eagar said: “Our infill drilling program will target areas of Kasiya where we expect the first seven to eight years of production to come from.
“The program design was overseen by the Rio Tinto-Sovereign Technical Committee, which again illustrates the benefits of the Rio Tinto partnership since their initial investment in July 2023.”
Kasiya is already the world’s largest rutile deposit and second-largest flake graphite deposit, with more than 66% of the current MRE in the indicated category.
The current MRE defined broad and contiguous zones of high-grade rutile and graphite, which occur across a very large area of more than 201 square kilometres.
About the drilling
An offset 200x200-metre program resulting in an average drill spacing of 142 metres has been designed by Sovereign and is being overseen by the Rio Tinto-Sovereign Technical Committee.
This offset spacing has the advantage of allowing analysis of geology and grade continuity in both orthogonal and diagonal directions.
The program will consist of:
- 250+ aircore holes for more than 5,000 metres, with an average depth of 20 metres;
- 250+ hand auger holes for more than 750 metres, with an average depth of 3 metres;
- 30 push tube/diamond core holes providing samples for geotechnical analysis and verification sampling with an average depth of 20 metres; and
- Several 3-metre-deep pits to obtain detailed rutile grade information from the upper profile and provide additional geotechnical information.
All samples obtained will have rutile and graphite assayed by offsite laboratories in South Africa with results and subsequent resource upgrade expected in early 2025.
Previous success
In a 2022 drill program at Kasiya, Sovereign used push tube core holes to infill and convert inferred mineralisation into the indicated category.
The consistency and robustness of the geology allowed for an efficient conversion of this previously inferred material on a near-identical one-for-one basis to the indicated category.