
NEWS RELEASE I 1 MAY 2024
SOVEREIGN TO INCREASE GRAPHITE BULK SAMPLE PREPARATION CAPACITY
· Industrial scale spiral concentrator to be installed at Sovereign's expanded laboratory and testing facility in
· Spiral throughput capacity of up to 10 tonnes per hour of ore for graphite and rutile sample preparation
· Installation and commissioning led by Sovereign's Head of Project Development, Mr Paul Marcos, who previously worked for Base Resources on their Kwale and Toliara projects and for Iluka Resources across various mineral sands operations
· Final graphite concentrate for bulk sample battery anode testwork and qualification advancing under the supervision of Sovereign's Chief Technology Officer - Graphite, Dr Surinder Ghag
· Sovereign is targeting a market-leading position as the world's largest and lowest-cost producer of rutile for the titanium industry, and flake graphite for the lithium-ion battery market
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Sovereign Metals Limited (ASX:SVM; AIM:SVML) (the Company or Sovereign) is pleased to announce that following the appointment of graphite specialist Dr Surinder Ghag as Chief Technology Officer - Graphite, the Company will be increasing graphite pre-concentrate sample preparation from its existing testing facility in
In the coming weeks, Sovereign will install and commission a spiral concentrator containing industrial-scale MG12 spiral equipment at the Company's laboratory and testing facility in
Managing Director Frank Eagar commented: "The intellectual property that Dr Ghag and Mr Marcos bring to Sovereign has meant that we can expand and expedite our graphite commercialisation strategy significantly. The infrastructure, along with the ability to provide large amounts of graphite concentrate to the lithium-ion battery industry for battery anode product qualification, offers Sovereign a big advantage. With a world-class team in place and alongside our strategic investors, Rio Tinto, Kasiya is moving ahead at a considerable pace."
The spiral concentrator is currently in its final stages of testing at engineering consultancy Paterson & Cooke's
Sovereign's Head of Project Development, Mr Paul Marcos, has led the spiral installation project. Mr Marcos has 30 years of mineral sands operations, engineering, and consulting expertise. Before joining Sovereign in July 2021, Mr Marcos spent over ten years working on Base Resources Limited (Base) projects both in a design role with Ausenco and then on Base's owner's team.
Mr Marcos was involved with the original Kwale Project and then Kwale North and Kwale Phase 2 Projects in
Sovereign's newly appointed graphite specialist Chief Technology Officer - Graphite, Dr Surinder Ghag, will be responsible for graphite testwork programs and product qualification. A highly qualified metallurgist, Surinder brings over 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.
Figure 1: Final stages of assembling the spiral plant at Paterson & Cooke,
Classification 2.2: This announcement includes Inside Information
ENQUIRIES
Frank Eagar ( +61(8) 9322 6322 |
Sam Cordin ( |
Sapan Ghai (
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Nominated Adviser on AIM and Joint Broker |
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SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP |
+44 20 3470 0470 |
Ewan Leggat Charlie Bouverat |
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Joint Brokers |
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Stifel |
+44 20 7710 7600 |
Varun Talwar |
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Ashton Clanfield |
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Berenberg |
+44 20 3207 7800 |
Matthew Armitt |
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Jennifer Lee |
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Buchanan |
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The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of
Forward Looking Statement
This release may include forward-looking statements, which may be identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "projects", "plans", and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are based on Sovereign's expectations and beliefs concerning future events. Forward looking statements are necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the control of Sovereign, which could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Sovereign makes no undertaking to subsequently update or revise the forward-looking statements made in this release, to reflect the circumstances or events after the date of that release.
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