Sovereign testwork at Kasiya confirms monazite-containing earths

(Sharecast News) - Sovereign Metals said on Wednesday that testwork had confirmed monazite containing critical heavy rare earth elements across multiple planned pits at its Kasiya rutile-graphite project in Malawi.

The AIM-traded company said monazite concentrate containing dysprosium, terbium and yttrium had been recovered from four pits in the definitive feasibility study mine plan, including pits scheduled for first-year production.

Sovereign said the average dysprosium-terbium ratio in the total rare earth oxide basket was 2.5%, while yttrium averaged 11.8%.

It said those levels were about seven times higher than the average of the world's five largest rare earth producers, which it put at 0.4% dysprosium-terbium and 1.7% yttrium.

The highest ratios were found near the surface, between zero and six metres, with up to 3.1% dysprosium-terbium and 17.2% yttrium in the rare earth basket.

The testwork was carried out on monazite concentrates recovered from the Babbler, Kingfisher, Sparrow and Mousebird pits.

The four-pit average also showed neodymium-praseodymium content of 20.9% in the total rare earth oxide basket.

Sovereign said the monazite could become a third revenue stream from the non-conductor tailings stream of the existing DFS flowsheet, alongside rutile and graphite.

It said the opportunity could potentially require no additional mining and no new primary processing circuit, although confirmation work was continuing.

The company said further work was needed to assess downstream product separation or refining, as well as mineralogy, deportment, liberation and uranium and thorium handling requirements.

Sovereign said an independent report by Project Blue had indicated potential pricing of $16,000 per tonne in a base case and $19,000 per tonne in a high case for a monazite concentrate with a 60% total rare earth oxide content.

That compared with an April 2026 Shanghai Metals Market benchmark spot price of $6,142 per tonne for 54% to 55% total rare earth oxide monazite concentrate.

Managing director and chief executive Frank Eagar said the results confirmed that monazite-hosted rare earth content first reported in January was present in pits scheduled for the early years of Kasiya production.

"The monazite concentrate contains all four magnetic rare earth elements - neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium - plus highly critical yttrium," he said.

"These elements appear to be recoverable from the current tailings stream of our DFS flowsheet. We are advancing the additional mineralogical and metallurgical work required to quantify the potential economic upside to the DFS reported last month."

Sovereign said the results came as Western governments were seeking to reduce reliance on China for heavy rare earths, with dysprosium, terbium and yttrium subject to Chinese export controls.

The company said Kasiya was already at DFS stage with a pre-tax net present value of $2.2bn, and that the rare earth opportunity could provide additional economic upside if incorporated into the project.

Next steps included further mineralogical characterisation, additional metallurgical testwork, assessment of potential marketable product volumes, and a study on the economic impact of adding monazite to the existing DFS flowsheet.

Sovereign also said it would continue engagement with potential offtake partners and government stakeholders.

At 0923 BST, shares in Sovereign Metals were up 6.27% at 35.6p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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