Experto en grafito nombrado para el equipo de desarrollo
COMUNICADO DE PRENSA I 23 APRIL 2024
GRAPHITE EXPERT APPOINTED TO KASIYA DEVELOPMENT TEAM
· Sovereign further strengthens owner's team through the appointment of graphite and battery anode specialist consultant Dr Surinder Ghag as Chief Technology Officer - Graphite
· Dr Ghag is an expert metallurgist with 25 years of experience across critical minerals including graphite and rutile
· Sovereign is poised to become the global leader in natural flake graphite production, a significant by-product of the Kasiya Rutile-Graphite Project in Malawi
· Dr Ghag's appointment further bolsters the world-class Sovereign Project Development Team which is working alongside strategic investor Rio Tinto to develop Kasiya
Sovereign Metals Limited (ASX:SVM; AIM:SVML) (las Empresa or Soberano) is pleased to announce the appointment of consultant Dr Surinder Ghag to Sovereign's owner's team as Chief Technology Officer - Graphite. Dr Ghag will assist Sovereign's graphite strategy in qualifying the graphite product from its Kasiya Rutile-Graphite Project (Satisfactorio or Proyecto) for lithium-ion battery anodes.
A highly qualified metallurgist, Dr Ghag brings 25 years of industry experience including developing graphite test work programs, ore-to-anode graphite strategies, anode plant feasibility studies, and project development and commissioning. Recently, Dr Ghag was instrumental in developing an environmentally friendly and commercially viable method for purifying graphite, working alongside the Australian Government scientific research entity CSIRO (Organización de Investigación Científica e Industrial de la Commonwealth). Prior to his work in graphite, Dr Ghag's work included process engineering at various Australian mineral sands operations.
A major component of graphite sales agreements is customer qualification. As Chief Technology Officer- Graphite, Dr Ghag will be responsible for designing and delivering graphite downstream test work programs to be aligned with graphite product development and qualification as Sovereign continues discussions with battery anode processors, end-users, and potential future offtake partners.
Upon the appointment, Managing Director Frank Eagar commented:
"I am pleased to welcome Dr Ghag as we continue to strengthen our owner's team in preparation for project execution. Kasiya will deliver the world's lowest cost, lowest carbon footprint graphite. Dr Ghag joining Sovereign will significantly enhance our graphite metallurgical expertise and understanding of the downstream market to translate Kasiya's bottom-of-the-cost curve advantage into significant active anode market capture."
Previously reported initial characterisation test work on Kasiya's graphite has indicated excellent suitability for use in lithium-ion batteries with high purity and high crystallinity being the key features (see ASX announcement from 8 June 2023: Kasiya Graphite Shows Excellent Suitability For Use in Lithium Ion Batteries, https://www.investi.com.au/api/announcements/svm/fe3830af-843.pdf).
Additional spheronisation and purification testwork is presently underway at a leading German graphite laboratory to validate key parameters at a larger scale with results imminent.
Furthermore, Sovereign is currently undertaking a graphite bulk sampling program to produce large quantities of flake graphite product for further downstream test work and initial product qualification to support ongoing discussions with battery anode processors, end-users, and potential future offtake partners.
BACKGROUND TO KASIYA'S MARKET-LEADING GRAPHITE POTENTIAL
Kasiya is the world's largest known rutile (titanium) deposit hosting a JORC-Compliant Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 17.9Mt. It is also one of the largest known flake graphite resources with a MRE of 24.4Mt.
Sovereign's Prefeasibility Study (PFS) confirmed Kasiya as a potential major critical minerals project with an extremely low CO2 footprint delivering significant long-term volumes of natural rutile (the highest-grade, purest, natural titanium feedstock) and graphite (a key component of an electric vehicle battery) while generating significant economic returns. Both titanium and natural graphite are critical to several of the world's economies as well as crucial to decarbonisation solutions required to meet "Net-Zero" and other targets set by policymakers.
The PFS confirmed Kasiya's potential to be the world's largest natural graphite producer at 244kt per annum of graphite concentrate. On an incremental cost basis, Kasiya would also be the world's lowest-cost graphite producer at US$182 per tonne (FOB Nacala).
In June 2023, downstream test work on Kasiya's graphite demonstrated it to have superior qualities, showing excellent suitability for use in lithium-ion batteries. In July 2023, Rio Tinto invested A$40.4 million in Sovereign resulting in an initial 15% shareholding. Under the Investment Agreement, Sovereign and Rio Tinto will work together to qualify Kasiya's graphite product with a particular focus on supplying the spherical purified graphite segment of the lithium-ion battery anode market.
CONSULTAS
Frank Eagar (Sudáfrica/Malawi) + 61 (8) 9322 6322 | Sam Cordin (Perth) | Sapan Ghai (Londres)
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Asesor designado sobre AIM y Joint Broker |
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SP Ángel Finanzas Corporativas LLP | +44 20 3470 0470 |
Ewan Leggat charlie boverat | |
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Conjunto Brokers |
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stifel | +44 20 7710 7600 |
Varun Talwar |
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Campo de clanes de Ashton |
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Berenberg | +44 20 3207 7800 |
matthew armit |
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Jennifer Lee |
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Buchanan | + 44 20 7466 5000 |
Declaración de persona competente
La información de este anuncio relacionada con la estimación de recursos minerales se extrae de un anuncio de fecha 5 de abril de 2023 titulado "El recurso indicado de Kasiya aumentó en más del 80%" que está disponible para ver en www.sovereignmetals.com.au y se basa y representa fielmente información compilada por el Sr. Richard Stockwell, una persona competente, miembro del Instituto Australiano de Geocientíficos (AIG). Stockwell es director de Placer Consulting Pty Ltd, una empresa de consultoría independiente. El anuncio original está disponible para verlo en www.sovereignmetals.com.au. Sovereign confirma que a) no tiene conocimiento de ninguna información o dato nuevo que afecte materialmente la información incluida en el anuncio original; b) todos los supuestos materiales incluidos en el anuncio original continúan aplicándose y no han cambiado materialmente; y c) la forma y el contexto en que se presentan las conclusiones de las Personas Competentes pertinentes en este anuncio no han cambiado materialmente con respecto al anuncio original.
La información de este anuncio relacionada con los objetivos de producción, las reservas de mineral, el procesamiento, la infraestructura y los costos operativos de capital, la metalurgia (rutilo y grafito) se extrae de un anuncio del 28 de septiembre de 2023 titulado "Resultados del estudio de prefactibilidad de Kasiya" que está disponible para ver en www.sovereignmetals.com.au. 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 and technical parameters underpinning the Production Target, and related forecast financial information derived from the Production Target 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 presentation have not been materially modified from the original announcement.
Reserva de mineral para el depósito Kasiya |
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Clasificación | toneladas | Grado Rutilo | Rutilo contenido | Grado de grafito (TGC) (%) | Grafito contenido | RutEq. Calificación* | |
Demostrado | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
Probable | 538 | 1.03% | 5.5 | 1.66% | 8.9 | 2.00% | |
Total | 538 | 1.03% | 5.5 | 1.66% | 8.9 | 2.00% | |
* RutEq. Formula: Rutile Grade x Recovery (100%) x Rutile Price (US$1,484/t) + Graphite Grade x Recovery (67.5%) x Graphite Price (US$1,290/t) / Rutile Price (US$1,484/t). All assumptions are taken from the PFS ** Any minor summation inconsistencies are due to rounding
Kasiya Total Indicated + Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate at 0.7% rutile cut-off grade | |||||
Clasificación | Recurso | Grado Rutilo | Rutilo contenido | Grado de grafito (TGC) (%) | Grafito contenido |
Indicado | 1,200 | 1.0% | 12.2 | 1.5% | 18.0 |
Inferido | 609 | 0.9% | 5.7 | 1.1% | 6.5 |
Total | 1,809 | 1.0% | 17.9 | 1.4% | 24.4 |
Declaraciones con visión hacia el futuro
Este comunicado puede incluir declaraciones prospectivas, que pueden identificarse con palabras como "espera", "anticipa", "cree", "proyecta", "planea" y expresiones similares. Estas declaraciones prospectivas se basan en las expectativas y creencias de Sovereign con respecto a eventos futuros. Las declaraciones a futuro están necesariamente sujetas a riesgos, incertidumbres y otros factores, muchos de los cuales están fuera del control de Sovereign, lo que podría causar que los resultados reales difieran materialmente de dichas declaraciones. No puede haber garantía de que las declaraciones prospectivas resulten ser correctas. Sovereign no se compromete a actualizar o revisar posteriormente las declaraciones prospectivas hechas en este comunicado, para reflejar las circunstancias o eventos posteriores a la fecha de dicho comunicado.
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