By Oonagh Reidy, Director
Sovereign Metals came to Buchanan in late 2023 with a problem – the company was valued at less than £150m, was illiquid and had a low profile, despite the fact that Rio Tinto had acquired a 15% stake, backing it to develop the Kasiya Project – the largest and purest titanium deposit, and the second largest graphite deposit on the planet.
From 1 January 2024 Burson Buchanan reset the whole way that Sovereign was presented externally and set about the task of making the stock as investable as possible by delivering a highly pro-active campaign through tactical capital market communications. Since then, the stock has doubled in price, Rio Tinto has increased its holding to 19.9%, and trading volumes have doubled since the average in 2023.
Titanium and graphite both feature on the critical minerals lists of US, EU – such is their importance in lithium-ion batteries, defence and aerospace industries.
Titanium is one the strongest yet lightest metal in the periodic table – its applications vary from paint pigments through to advanced medical applications through to aerospace and defence, with its principal product being titanium sponge, the intermediate form of titanium before it is applied to its various end products.
Graphite makes up 50% of Lithium-ion batteries and is critical to the energy transition.
70% of the world’s source of titanium sponge currently comes from Russia and China, whilst over 80% of raw graphite is sourced from China alone.
Sovereign Metals is now positioned as the game changer in both these markets through the development of Kasiya, its rutile/graphite mine in Malawi, East Africa. Its clear strategy is to address the imbalance of sourcing these critical minerals, which are vital to securing its energy and resources security in a fast-changing world.
Kasiya’s vital statistics are staggering; a Net Present Value (NPV) of $2.3bn, forecast EBITDA of over $400m every year for the next 25 years, and the lowest cost rutile and graphite producer on the planet.
This video generated during this year’s Mining Indaba in Cape Town, summarises Sovereign succinctly and why Interactive Investor named it as 5 Mining Stocks to Watch in 2025.