Kasiya project flags $2.2B cost

Sovereign Metals says its Kasiya mine plan in Malawi would need about $727 million to reach first production, with a pre-tax project value of $2.2 billion in its new definitive feasibility study. (investegate.co.uk) The study, released on April 16, 2026, models a 25-year initial mine life, steady-state annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $476 million, and annual free cash flow of $452 million before tax and financing. (investegate.co.uk) Kasiya is designed to produce about 222,000 tonnes a year of natural rutile and 275,000 tonnes a year of natural flake graphite, which Sovereign says would make it the world’s largest producer of both materials. Rutile is a titanium-bearing mineral used in pigments, metal and welding products, while flake graphite is used in batteries and industrial applications. (investegate.co.uk) The filing lands as the United States and the European Union keep classifying titanium and graphite as critical minerals and push for supply outside China and other concentrated sources. Sovereign said its study was completed under a technical committee that includes Rio Tinto, which invested $40.4 million in the company in 2023 for a 15% stake. (investegate.co.uk) (riotinto.com) Sovereign is pitching Kasiya as a low-cost operation because the ore is near surface and free-dig, meaning it does not require drilling or blasting before mining. The company estimates operating cost at $450 per tonne of product delivered free on board at Nacala, Mozambique. (investegate.co.uk) The export route in the study runs on existing regional infrastructure: grid power, rail and the port of Nacala. Sovereign also said it has non-binding memorandums of understanding with Mitsui covering more than half of stage-one rutile output and with Traxys covering more than 35% of coarse flake graphite sales. (investegate.co.uk) The project is still not financed or built. Sovereign said the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation has a collaboration agreement in place as a potential co-lead mandated arranger for project financing, and permitting and final funding remain ahead. (investegate.co.uk) Sovereign also said the study does not include possible revenue from monazite, a mineral concentrate that can contain rare earth elements such as dysprosium, terbium and yttrium. For now, the headline from Kasiya is narrower: a large mine plan on paper, a big construction bill, and a long list of steps before ore ships. (investegate.co.uk)