Sovereign Metals Ltd (ASX:SVM, OTC:SVMLF, AIM:SVML) picked up 3.5% to 30.5p after it received a further investment of A$690,00 from Rio Tinto Ltd (LSE:RIO, ASX:RIO, OTC:RTNTF) as the mining giant exercised its unlisted options to obtain over 1.29 million shares in SVM.
This brings Rio Tinto’s holding in the company to 19.9%, just two months after the titan made its initial $18.5 million investment and offered its technical and marketing expertise to support the development of the Kasiya natural rutile and graphite deposit.
SVM recently put a sample of high-quality coated spherical purified graphite (CSPG) created from Kasiya natural graphite feedstock through its paces, achieving "outstanding" results with performance characteristics “comparable to the highest quality natural graphite battery material produced by dominant Chinese anode manufacturers”.