Kasiya Graphite Excels Testing on Market Specs for Refractories and Expandables

• Sovereign Metals' Kasiya graphite has met or exceeded specifications for use in refractory, expandable, and expanded graphite applications
• Kasiya graphite is now suitable for the three key segments that account for over 94% of the ~1.6Mtpa global natural flake graphite demand
• In Q4 2024, 94-95% graphite concentrate usable in the expandable and expanded markets was priced at US$1,140/t FOB
• Sovereign intends to produce 96% graphite concentrate at an incremental cost of US$241/t FOB
• The results will be used to advance customer engagement and potential offtake discussions.

Sovereign Metals Limited (ASX:SVM) is an exploration and development company focused on its flagship Kasiya Rutile-Graphite Project in Malawi. Testwork has confirmed the suitability of Kasiya's graphite for key downstream applications, positioning it to potentially become a leading global supplier of premium natural graphite.

Positioned to Supply Key Natural Graphite Markets

The latest testwork confirms that Kasiya's graphite is suitable for use in the three key segments that account for over 94% of the ~1.6Mtpa global demand for natural flake graphite - battery anodes, refractories, and expanded/expandables.

In the news release, Sovereign Metals' Managing Director and CEO Frank Eagar stated:

"Our continuous graphite downstream application testing has shown that the high-quality Kasiya concentrate is suitable for the three key natural graphite markets: the high-growth anode materials for graphite fines; the stable and large refractory materials market for coarse flake and the growing expandable and expanded graphite markets for medium to coarse flake."

Kasiya Graphite Excels in Refractories Testwork

Comprehensive testwork completed by leading German laboratories ProGraphite GmbH and Dorfner Anzaplan has demonstrated that Kasiya's graphite meets or exceeds all critical characteristics required for refractory applications. Key findings include:

• High purity graphite concentrate with low impurities
• High grade, large flake sizes
• High oxidation resistance
• Low levels of problematic mineral impurities, including sulphur
• Low "springback" from compression

Refractories represent the second largest end-use market for natural graphite at 24% of global demand, after the batteries sector at 52%. Graphite products for refractories typically require larger flake sizes than those used in battery anodes, and tend to command higher prices. In Q4 2024, large flake graphite for the refractory sector achieved prices up to US$1,193/t, compared to US$564/t for smaller flake graphite used in battery anodes.

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In the news release, Frank Eagar, commented:

"The refractories market is the second largest end-user of natural graphite and requires larger, coarser graphite flakes with specific chemical and physical properties. We know that almost 70% of Kasiya's graphite meets the size requirements for refractory applications. Today's results confirm that our graphite product also meets or exceeds the key chemical and physical properties required to sell into the refractory market."

Kasiya Graphite Suitable for Expandable & Expanded Applications

Further testwork has confirmed that Kasiya's medium to coarse flake graphite (>150 microns to >300 microns) has met or exceeded specifications for use as expandable graphite in flame retardants and as expanded graphite in gaskets, seals and brake linings.

ProGraphite achieved expansion volumes of 320cm³/g and 355cm³/g for >180 microns and >300 microns concentrates respectively, exceeding typical minimum requirements. Optimization testing at Dorfner Anzaplan achieved a very high expansion volume of 650cm3/g for >150 microns concentrate, demonstrating the potential to tailor expansion to application requirements.

Demand for natural graphite in the expandable and expanded market is approaching 100,000 tonnes per year and growing at 6-8% CAGR. In December 2024, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence reported 94-95% graphite concentrate suitable for these applications was priced at US$1,140/t FOB.

Low Cost Advantage

Sovereign intends to produce a 96% graphite concentrate at Kasiya for an incremental cost of US$241/t FOB, based on the recently completed Optimized Pre-feasibility Study. This positions Kasiya as potentially one of the lowest cost natural graphite operations globally.

"These results along with our industry-low cost position, offers Kasiya the potential to become the world's dominant natural graphite supplier, whilst remaining a primary rutile project," said Mr. Eagar.

Next Steps

The successful downstream testwork results will now be used to advance customer engagement and potential offtake discussions for Kasiya's graphite products across the key market segments.

With a high quality graphite concentrate suitable for the major end-use applications, and the potential for industry-leading production costs, Sovereign Metals appears well positioned to become a significant new supplier to the growing natural graphite market. The next steps will be to convert the excellent testwork results into binding offtake commitments from customers.