Recent tests by Japan-based Toho Titanium Company have confirmed that natural rutile from Kasiya-Rutile Graphite Project in Lilongwe is suitable for producing high-performance titanium metal products.
Sovereign Metals Limited, the developer of the rutile deposit, says the validation from a global firm that manufactures and supplies the most demanding aerospace applications globally is a huge boost.
The latest assessment comes after a German firm ProGraphite and Dorfner Anzaplan in February this year also confirmed Kasiya Rutile Graphite Project for having high-quality minerals.
In a statement dated June 10 2025, Sovereign Metals Limited said the Japanese firm confirmed the suitability of natural rutile for manufacturing high-specification titanium products critical in aerospace and industrial applications.
The statement said Toho Titanium’s analysis of a sample of rutile from Kasiya concluded that it is of a quality that can be used without any issues as it surpassed the requirements for titanium dioxide.
Reads the statement in part: “Kasiya’s rutile surpassed the requirements for titanium dioxide grade, low or no deleterious elements, low radiation value and suitable particle size distribution and density.
“Toho Titanium represents a cornerstone supplier in the global titanium value chain, with combined decades of expertise serving the world’s most demanding aerospace and industrial manufacturers.”
Sovereign Metals Limited managing director Frank Eagar is quoted in the report as having said the validation by Toho Titanium confirms Kasiya’s rutile as a premium and purest form of titanium feedstock for the titanium metals industry.
He said: “Confirmation that our rutile meets Toho Titanium’s exacting standards for high-specification titanium production validates our position as a future cornerstone supplier to critical industries.
“With the world’s largest known rutile deposit, Sovereign Metals is uniquely positioned to capitalise on the intersection of resource security, aerospace supply chain realignment and national defence priorities.”
Eagar said Kasiya’s scale and quality combined with Malawi’s stable environment offer unparalleled exposure to one of the most strategic and rapidly growing mineral markets in recent history.
Geologist and former minister of Energy Grain Malunga said the country needs to make serious investments in the extractive industry, calling for development of laboratories.
“We have to find ways of raising money to have these facilities like laboratories in place and we can leverage current mining projects,” he said.
Minority Shareholders Association of Listed Companies, who have been advocating for local participation in large-scale mining, urged the Ministry of Mining to push for dual listing of mining companies on the Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE) to bolster local participation in large-scale mining.
Dual listing would imply that companies operating large-scale mines in Malawi would be required to list on the 16-counter MSE.
The association’s secretary general Frank Harawa said: “We want these large-scale mining companies to list on the MSE so that Malawians from all walks of life should have an opportunity to own shares. Let them raise capital locally in Malawi kwacha.”
Toho Titanium, together with Japan’s other major titanium metal producer, Osaka Titanium, account for over 15 percent of global titanium production capacity and over 60 percent of non-sanctioned, aerospace-grade titanium metal production.
In July last year, Ministry of Mining signed two Mining Development Agreements with Lotus Resources Limited for the recommissioning of the Kayelekera Uranium Mine Project in Karonga in the third quarter of this year and Lancaster Exploration Limited for the Songwe Hill Rare Earth Elements Mining Project in Phalombe District.
In the last financial year, Ministry of Mining generated about K1 billion in mining royalties, according to the Malawi Government Annual Economic Report 2025.
