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NEWS RELEASE I 25 JULY
2024
DRY MINING TRIAL SUCCESSFULLY
COMPLETED AT PILOT PHASE TEST PIT
· Pilot Phase dry mining trial
confirms Kasiya can be efficiently mined using standard mobile
excavators and trucks, demonstrating operational alternatives as
part of ongoing PFS Optimisation Study
· Test pit mined as planned and
on schedule to a depth of 20 metres, excavating approximately
170,000 bench cubic metres
· Simple and efficient dry
mining undertaken with free-dig and soft, friable nature of the
Kasiya orebody confirming no drilling or blasting required for
excavation
· Ore extracted with zero strip
ratio successfully stockpiled with no requirement to crush or grind
prior to use as processing plant feed
· Hydraulic mining trials to
begin in coming weeks with six million litre water storage pond
currently filled to 80% capacity
· Pilot Phase continues to
progress as part of ongoing PFS Optimisation Study with oversight
from Sovereign-Rio Tinto Technical Committee
Classification 2.2: This announcement includes Inside
Information
![A large open pit with many layers of dirt Description automatically generated with medium confidence](https://dw6uz0omxro53.cloudfront.net/3120201/5cdb91cc-e989-4e05-a80d-4e0702d2e34a.jpg)
Figure 1: Kasiya Pilot Phase
Test Pit mined to 20 metres depth
Sovereign Metals Limited (ASX: SVM;
AIM: SVML; OTCQX: SVMLF) (Sovereign or the Company) is pleased to announce that
the dry mining trial is now complete with a test pit successfully
excavated as part of the ongoing Pilot Mining and Land
Rehabilitation Program (Pilot
Phase) at the Company's Kasiya Rutile-Graphite Project
(Kasiya) in
Malawi.
The test pit covers the planned area
of 120 metres by 110 metres and has been excavated to a depth of 20
metres through the weathered ore at Kasiya. This confirms Kasiya
ore can be efficiently mined using conventional dry-mining
techniques and a simple mobile excavator fleet. The pit is
accessible through a 10-metre-wide ramp constructed at appropriate
geotechnical angles.
Managing Director, Frank Eagar commented:
"Completion of the test pit at this scale marks a
significant achievement. The mining, hydrology and geotechnical
data collected throughout is invaluable in our understanding of the
orebody and the simplicity of a potential dry-mining operation at
Kasiya. We now look forward to the next steps of the pilot phase
including the hydraulic mining trial, cyclone separation of ore,
backfilling of test pits and soil rehabilitation."
For the test pit, the dry mining
fleet consisted of four excavators, 20 trucks and a support fleet
including two bulldozers and a motor grader. The saprolite-hosted
mineralisation at Kasiya is largely homogenous and has relatively
consistent physical properties throughout the 1.8 billion tonnes
Mineral Resource Estimate. Data collected from the pilot phase
confirmed that no drilling, blasting, crushing, grinding or milling
will be required prior to stockpiling material for processing into
rutile and graphite products; an indication of potentially lower
mining costs and a lower carbon footprint comparable to hard rock
deposits.
![](https://dw6uz0omxro53.cloudfront.net/3120201/769f7393-9c5b-4d5b-8105-34dc7cb8420e.png)
Figure 2: Kasiya mining and
front-end processing vs. hard rock peers
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![A construction vehicle in a quarry Description automatically generated](https://dw6uz0omxro53.cloudfront.net/3120201/4a8ade5f-aaf0-4aed-882a-bcb8c589598b.jpg)
Figures 3 & 4: Simple
excavator fleet mining the test pit
Approximately 170,000 bench cubic
metres of material has been mined as part of the test-pit program.
Steady-state operations envisage 24 million tonnes of material
being mined annually. The test pit material will be processed
through cyclones on-site for deposition testwork.
![An aerial view of a large land Description automatically generated](https://dw6uz0omxro53.cloudfront.net/3120201/4172794a-6608-46a2-a307-803cc5115cc3.jpg)
Figure 5: Dry mining plant
feed stockpiled without any crushing or grinding
![A large dirt pit with a pond Description automatically generated with medium confidence](https://dw6uz0omxro53.cloudfront.net/3120201/e3919e19-881f-4f50-8471-74fe724e3364.jpg)
Figure 6: Pilot Phase Water
Storage Pond almost at capacity with rehabilitation demonstration
pits in background
The main pit will be backfilled with
dry material, while material from hydraulic mining will be used to
fill rehabilitation pits as part of the rehabilitation
phase.
A temporary water storage pond has
been constructed and sealed using natural clay from excavated
material, minimising the use of conventional plastic lining. The
pond is being filled via eight boreholes delivering water to site
and is nearing its capacity of six million litres. Water from the
storage pond will initially be used for the hydraulic mining
stage.
![An aerial view of a construction site Description automatically generated](https://dw6uz0omxro53.cloudfront.net/3120201/b1faad87-e663-450c-a96f-480488f8c978.png)
Figure 7: Pilot Phase Site
end of July 2024
Background to the Pilot Phase
The Pilot Phase is a critical part
of Kasiya's optimisation study; empirical data generated from the
Pilot Phase will determine optimal project excavation, material
handling, processing, backfilling and rehabilitation approaches.
The Pilot Phase is being undertaken on a 9.9-hectare site and
includes the following activities:
1. Test Pit: A test pit of 120m by 110m
excavated to a depth of 20m, allowing optimisation of hydraulic and
dry mining excavation methods.
2. Stockpiles: The excavated material will
be temporarily stored in 4 stockpiles, namely all dry mining
material, wet slimes (in a pond) and two sizes of sand fractions
from the hydraulic mining.
3. Backfilling and Grading: The material
will be placed back into the pit, and all areas will be
graded.
4. Rehabilitation Demonstration: Sovereign
will construct eight small rehabilitation demonstration pits
covering a combined area of 100m by 130m. These will be used for
water storage, excavated material storage, and demonstration of
multiple rehabilitation approaches.
5. Temporary Laydown Areas: Four areas
will be used as temporary laydown areas, offices, and associated
infrastructure.
6. Communication: The Pilot Phase will be
an educational opportunity for Project stakeholders. Sovereign will
undertake a series of stakeholder visits and consultations for this
purpose.
Sovereign's objective is to restore
land after mining to conditions that achieve the same or better
agricultural yields than existing land uses and crop yields. The
Pilot Phase will demonstrate to local communities the successful
rehabilitation of land for agricultural use post-mining; land
rehabilitation will form an integral component of the ongoing
optimisation study. Results will also allow Sovereign to determine
optimal excavation and backfill approaches, providing critical
information for the upcoming Definitive Feasibility
Study.
ENQUIRIES
Frank Eagar (South
Africa/Malawi)
Managing Director
+27 21 065 1890
|
Sam Cordin (Perth)
Business Development
+61(8) 9322 6322
|
Sapan Ghai (London)
CCO
+44 207 478 3900
|
Nominated Adviser on AIM and
Joint Broker
|
|
SP Angel Corporate Finance
LLP
|
+44 20 3470 0470
|
Ewan Leggat
Charlie Bouverat
|
|
|
|
Joint
Brokers
|
|
Stifel
|
+44 20 7710 7600
|
Varun Talwar
|
|
Ashton Clanfield
|
|
|
|
Berenberg
|
+44 20 3207 7800
|
Matthew Armitt
|
|
Jennifer Lee
|
|
|
|
Buchanan
|
+ 44 20 7466 5000
|
Competent Person Statement
The information in this announcement that relates to the
Mineral Resource Estimate is extracted from an announcement dated 5
April 2023 entitled 'Kasiya Indicated Resource Increased by over
80%' which is available to view at www.sovereignmetals.com.au
and is based on,
and fairly represents information compiled by Mr Richard Stockwell,
a Competent Person, who is a fellow of the Australian Institute of
Geoscientists (AIG). Mr Stockwell is a principal of Placer
Consulting Pty Ltd, an independent consulting company. Sovereign
confirms that a) it is not aware of any new information or data
that materially affects the information included in the original
announcement; b) all material assumptions included in the original
announcement continue to apply and have not materially changed; and
c) the form and context in which the relevant Competent Persons'
findings are presented in this announcement have not been
materially changed from the original
announcement.
Kasiya Total Indicated +
Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate at 0.7% rutile cut-off
grade
|
Classification
|
Resource
(Mt)
|
Rutile Grade
(%)
|
Contained Rutile
(Mt)
|
Graphite Grade (TGC)
(%)
|
Contained Graphite
(Mt)
|
Indicated
|
1,200
|
1.0%
|
12.2
|
1.5%
|
18.0
|
Inferred
|
609
|
0.9%
|
5.7
|
1.1%
|
6.5
|
Total
|
1,809
|
1.0%
|
17.9
|
1.4%
|
24.4
|
Forward Looking Statement
This release may include forward-looking statements, which may
be identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates",
"believes", "projects", "plans", and similar expressions. These
forward-looking statements are based on Sovereign's expectations
and beliefs concerning future events. Forward looking statements
are necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors,
many of which are outside the control of Sovereign, which could
cause actual results to differ materially from such statements.
There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will
prove to be correct. Sovereign makes no undertaking to subsequently
update or revise the forward-looking statements made in this
release, to reflect the circumstances or events after the date of
that release.
The information contained within this announcement is deemed
by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under
the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of
UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act
2018 ('MAR'). Upon the publication of this announcement via
Regulatory Information Service ('RIS'), this inside information is
now considered to be in the public domain.