CRITICAL MINERALS
Hand Auger Drill activities being undertaken by the team.
for the resource to increase significantly, making this drilling programme a major value catalyst. We will be releasing assay results progressively throughout the remainder of the year.” Discussing the results from its recent bulk sample test work in Johannesburg, Langley says the project produced a clean, high-grade rutile rutile product containing +96% TiO2 with low impurities. “In parallel, we have a conceptual study underway targeting completion by the end of August. This study will define the preliminary CAPEX and OPEX estimates, as well as the proposed plant layout and design. We are also commencing a pilot plant programme to further validate the process. By August, we expect to have
than producing an attractive financial model—it’s about delivering a project that can be financed, built and operated successfully.” The multi-commodity Mkanda project has the potential to be among the top five rutile projects in the world, coming in as a low- cost producer with graphite as a valuable byproduct coupled with zircon and rare-earths upside. “As demand continues to grow for battery materials, significant investment is being made globally in downstream anode and graphite processing capacity. Much of that capacity currently relies on higher-cost hard-rock graphite feedstock, whereas for Mkanda graphite is a by-product that offers a
meaningful cost advantage. In addition, the mineral assemblage also contains zircon and monazite, and that is something we are completing further work on to provide
a comprehensive dataset that will significantly advance the project,
support key development decisions, and accelerate the next phase of development.” According to Langley, the Mkanda mineralisation is extremely favourable as the deposit begins at surface and is shallow, making it highly amenable to rapid resource delineation. “This allows us to define the
further potential value streams and enhancing the overall economics of the project.” Progress to date Since acquiring the Mkanda and Kampini assets last year, the company has embarked on an aggressive drilling campaign, with an air-core drilling programme commenced in early July.
Fortuna Metals is pursuing a staged development strategy. It plans to begin with small-scale production in 2029 before ramping up to full-scale operations.
resource quickly and efficiently through shallow hand auger and aircore drilling. This combination of shallow mineralisation and a favourable geological setting enable us to progress rapidly through resource definition and the feasibility study process, substantially de-risking the project. From there, we can move confidently into discussions around offtake agreements, project financing and feasibility studies. That ability to accelerate development while systematically reducing project risk is a compelling aspect of the project,” he explains. Importantly, the emerging miner announced its maiden Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) in mid-July. Langley commented “I’m extremely pleased to deliver our
“We completed our 650 infill hand- auger drilling programme in June with the next phase being air-core drilling. This is a critical step because it allows us to test the mineralisation below the 10-metre depth reached by the hand-auger programme. Our maiden Mineral Resource Estimate, released in mid-July, is based on an average depth of only around eight metres. Even at that shallow depth, the project is ranked top six in the world by contained rutile.” The air-core drilling programme will test the deposit to depths of around 20 metres, similar to the average depth of the nearby Kasiya Rutile-Graphite Project. “If the mineralisation continues as expected, there is potential
18 MODERN MINING www.modernminingmagazine.co.za | SEPTEMBER 2026
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