Australian Securities Exchange-listed mining explorer Fortuna Metals Limited says recent drilling results from its Mkanda Rutile Graphite Project in Mchinji continue to show the presence of significant rutile deposits, strengthening the project’s potential.
In an update, the firm said the latest drilling campaign at Mlongo in the district within the Mkanda project found further high-grade rutile, adding on to what was identified in earlier exploration work.
Fortuna Metals, which operates exploration projects in Malawi, other African countries and Australia, said the results support its view that the area could host world-class rutile deposits.
The Mkanda Rutile-Graphite Project covers about 658 square kilometres (km) and is located approximately 20km south of the Kasiya Rutile and Graphite Project being developed by Sovereign Metals Limited in Lilongwe.
Reads the update in part: “Of special interest is the highest rutile grade of 3.43 percent which we believe demonstrates significant potential to find more high grades at depth below the current base limit of the inferred mineral resource estimate.”
The firm’s chief executive officer Tom Langley is quoted in the update as having said that the encouraging early results highlight Mkanda’s potential in an emerging major new rutile area.
He said: “Mlongo is one of several prospects we have just completed drilling and these aircore results demonstrate a truly world-class, high-grade rutile mineral system that is only getting bigger. I expect the quality and scale of the deposits to grow.”
In an interview on Sunday, geoscience and geological expert Ignatius Kamwanje described the firm’s early results as promising, saying the country’s discovered mineral deposits continue to attract global mining firms eager to tap from new critical minerals suppliers.
He said the Mkanda project remains in its early stages as exploration takes time to confirm the deposits volume for potential investment.
“These are promising results and the company is expected to continue doing exploration to confirm the volumes of the deposits,” said Kamwanje.
Geologist and mining consultant Grain Malunga described exploration as a key element in mining as it establishes the quantities of the deposits to determine whether they are worth investing in for extraction.
“It is necessary for government and local investors to participate at exploration because they can be part and parcel of the project from the initial stages although most local companies are not willing to take such a risk,” he said.
Ministry of Mining earlier indicated that it wants the Geological Survey Department to conduct detailed exploration so that companies should not start from studies when investing in the sector.
Mining currently contributes about one percent to the country’s gross domestic product, according to the 2026 Malawi Government Annual Economic Report.
