Sovereign Metals Ltd (ASX:SVM, OTCQX:SVMLF, AIM:SVML, FRA:SVM) shares rose 9% to 39.75p after the miner said Traxys North America had signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to market graphite from its Kasiya rutile-graphite project in Malawi.
Sovereign said the MOU targeted roughly 40,000 tonnes a year of graphite concentrate in stage one, years one to five, rising to up to 80,000 tonnes a year thereafter.
Traxys is one of three trading houses appointed to procure critical minerals for the US Government’s US$12 billion Project Vault strategic reserve, launched on 2 February 2026.
Graphite is on the US Geological Survey’s 2025 final list of critical minerals, and Sovereign said initial sales would focus on flake material for refractory customers.
Frank Eagar, managing director, said: “Traxys’s direct involvement in Project Vault, combined with its extensive network of industrial customers globally, positions Kasiya’s potential graphite production to serve both strategic government procurement programmes and established commercial markets.”