Sovereign Metals Limited has released a scoping study for the Kasiya Critical Minerals Project in Malawi, outlining an incremental pre-tax Net Present Value of approximately US$722 million and an Internal Rate of Return of 151% for the recovery of a monazite rare earth concentrate as a co-product.

The study estimates incremental capital expenditure of approximately US$29 million to first production, with capital payback achieved in roughly 1.5 years. Operating margins for the rare earths stream are projected at 90%, supported by incremental site operating costs of about US$0.90 per kilogram of concentrate.

The assessment is incremental to the Definitive Feasibility Study released in April 2026, which estimated initial capital expenditure of US$727 million and a pre-tax NPV of US$2.2 billion for the project's primary titanium and graphite operations. The new study adds an estimated US$84 million in steady-state annual EBITDA and US$82 million in annual pre-tax free cash flow over an initial 23-year mine life.

Production is targeted at an average of 2,626 tonnes per annum of monazite concentrate at steady state, containing 1,485 tonnes per annum of total rare earth oxides. This includes 310 tonnes per annum of neodymium-praseodymium and 36 tonnes per annum of dysprosium and terbium oxides.

“For ~US$29 million of initial capital, using infrastructure the DFS has already designed and costed, we can potentially add ~US$722 million of pre-tax value at a ~151% rate of return, with payback in around 18 months.”

— Frank Eagar, Managing Director and CEO

The project structure follows a July 2026 decision where Rio Tinto declined to exercise its option to become the operator of Kasiya. That left Sovereign Metals as the sole independent owner and operator, while Rio Tinto maintains an 18.2% shareholding in the company.

The preliminary scoping study carries an accuracy level of plus or minus 30% and is supported by a maiden monazite mineral resource estimate of 524.4 million tonnes at 0.0132% monazite. Sovereign scheduled the completion of a pre-feasibility study for the rare earths integration in 2027.

Read the full announcement: Scoping Study Shows Kasiya's Strategic Rare Earths Potential