Mining & Trade News

Strategic Rare Earths Recovered at Kasiya

ASX-listed Sovereign Metals has announced a significant and strategic rare earth value addition to its Kasiya Rutile Graphite Project in Lilongwe, Malawi.

Sovereign’s MD and CEO Frank Eagar says in a statement the Company has successfully recovered a monazite product containing high-value heavy rare earth elements (REE) from the tailings stream generated during rutile processing at its upgraded Lilongwe laboratory facilities.

The concentrate was recovered from material that would otherwise be discarded; the non-conductor tailings stream from electrostatic separation of a heavy mineral gravity concentrate of Kasiya ore.

Eager explains that producing a monazite concentrate would therefore require no additional complex processing.

He states that chemical analysis of magnetic concentrates from processed resource drilling samples performed by Scientific Services South Africa confirmed the favourable rare earth oxide distributions produced from the monazite concentrate.

Preliminary analysis has confirmed the monazite concentrate contains exceptional heavy rare earth content averaging 2.9% (and up to 3.9%) combined DyTb and averaging 11.9% (and up to 17.3%) yttrium, and light rare earth content of 21.8% neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr).

This composition sets Kasiya apart from all major global rare earth producers. The five largest operations – which together account for over 70% of global production – are dominated by light rare earth elements. Strategically critical heavy rare earths urgently required by US, Japan and EU advanced technology, defence, and industrial supply chains are present only in trace amounts, or absent entirely, in these deposits.

Eagar comments: “This is an exceptional development that has the potential to fundamentally enhance Kasiya’s strategic significance. With simple processing, our upgraded laboratory has recovered a valuable monazite concentrate product from the rutile tailings stream, with heavy rare earth content that the world’s major producers simply cannot match.”

“These are precisely the elements that matter most to nations seeking to protect and grow their critical mineral supply chains. Dysprosium and terbium enable permanent magnets to function in advanced technologies, including robotics, fighter jets, guided missiles, and naval propulsion systems. Yttrium protects jet engines and hypersonic vehicles from extreme temperatures. China imposed export controls on all three in April 2025, and Western supply chains are now acutely exposed.”

“What makes this value addition particularly significant is that this product was recovered from our rutile processing tailings stream. We are not currently contemplating a complex, standalone rare earth operation. We have recovered critically strategic rare earths from what would otherwise be discarded – a by-product of the processing route we will use for rutile and graphite production.”

“Kasiya’s rutile will feed aerospace-grade titanium production. Our graphite is essential for battery anodes and traditional industrial applications. And now Kasiya has the potential to also deliver critical heavy rare earths. We have an exciting workstream ahead of us as the potential of the heavy rare earth minerals is delineated. The recent visit by the US State Department to our Malawi operations, combined with our Collaboration Agreement with the World Bank International Finance Corporation (IFC), reflects the strategic importance that governments and institutions are beginning to attach to Kasiya.”

Preliminary analysis versus major global producers  

Global rare earth production is concentrated in five major operations: three in China (Bayan Obo, Weishan, Maoniuping), one in Australia operated by Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (Mt Weld), and one in the United States operated by MP Materials Corp (Mountain Pass). Together, these mines supply over 70% of the world’s rare earth production.

All five are dominated by light rare earths – principally lanthanum and cerium, which are abundant and low-value, and the magnet rare earths Neodymium and Praseodymium (NdPr). The strategically critical heavy rare earths – dysprosium, terbium, and yttrium – that underpin high performance advanced technology, defence, industrial and renewable energy applications are present in much smaller amounts. Kasiya’s heavy rare earth content is approximately 7x higher for both DyTb and yttrium than found in the five largest rare earth producing mines. Mountain Pass – America’s only rare earth mine – contains no measurable DyTb or yttrium.

China’s April 2025 export controls on dysprosium, terbium, and yttrium have created acute supply shortages for Western manufacturers. On January 6. 2026, China announced strengthened export controls on dual-use items to Japan, effective immediately. Despite 15 years of diversification efforts, Japan remains approximately 60% dependent on Chinese rare earth imports. For heavy rare earths, Japan’s dependence on China approaches 100%. Meanwhile, the US is 100% reliant on imports for its yttrium requirements.

Preliminary analysis of Kasiya’s monazite REE content demonstrates one of the highest combined heavy rare earth profiles while maintaining NdPr levels comparable to many REE development projects that have received government backing.

The US State Department visited Sovereign’s operations in Malawi in late 2025 as part of a broader engagement with strategically significant critical minerals projects in Africa.

Rare Earths by-product from existing process

Total rare earth oxide was analysed for in magnetic heavy mineral concentrates produced from aircore drilling samples during laboratory analysis for rutile. The magnetic concentrates were composited by depth interval (0-6m and 6-20m) to assess variation in mineralogy with depth associated with weathering units.

Separately, monazite concentrates were produced from bulk samples processed through the standard Kasiya flowsheet. Gravity concentrates were subjected to electrostatic separation, with the non-conductor stream then subjected to further gravity separation, followed by magnetic separation to produce a magnetic monazite concentrate. Duplicate analyses confirmed excellent repeatability. Chemical analysis to determine the distribution of rare earth oxides was conducted by the Scientific Services South Africa laboratory.

Next steps

Sovereign will now undertake further work to characterise the monazite mineralisation at Kasiya, including:

• Detailed mineralogical characterisation of monazite occurrence and distribution within the Kasiya orebody;
•  Assessment of heavy rare earth concentrate recovery rates through the proposed Kasiya processing flowsheet; and
• Evaluation of potential scale of rare earth production as a by-product and associated economics.

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