Sovereign Metals (ASX: SVM) has kicked off a nine-hole diamond drilling program at the Duwi Trend and Nanzeka Prospect, which is within the Central Malawi graphite project - in south-east Africa.
Drilling will test the depth and grade of graphite mineralisation and to obtain unweathered material for key metallurgical testwork, which follows on from trenching at the Duwi Prospect - with samples currently being prepared for shipment to the laboratory for chemical analysis.
At the project recent rock-chips delivered a peak grade of 35.3% Total Graphitic Carbon.
The project covers an extensive 7261 square kilometres, which includes two prospecting licenses covering close to 3300 square kilometres, with a reconnaissance licence covering the remainder.
This region of Africa is a hot spot for graphite exploration, with Syrah Resources' (ASX: SYR) Balama graphite project located 235 kilometres to the east, and hosts an Inferred Resource of 1.15 billion tonnes at 10.2% TGC and 0.23% vanadium.
A plus for Sovereign's project is that it is surrounded by established infrastructure including high capacity power lines, rail, roads and a port which is currently undergoing a major expansion.
Adding to the prospectivity, five substantial graphite gneiss belts have been identified within the area covered by the company's licenses.
Sovereign had over $3 million in cash at the end of March 2013.
Peak grade of 35.3% TGC
Sovereign only acquired the project around six months ago, with a rock-chip program totalling 132 representative rock-chip identified 74 with grade above 10% TGC, averaging 14.8% TGC, with a peak grade of 35.3% TGC.
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