RCS - Sovereign Metals Ltd - International Development Organisation Partnership

Sovereign MetalsAnnouncement

26/06/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 8685T  Sovereign Metals Limited  26 June 2024

NEWS RELEASE I 26 JUNE 2024

SOVEREIGN PARTNERS WITH INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATION IN MALAWI

·      Sovereign has entered into an MoU with The Palladium Group - a
US-based international development entity operating in Malawi.

·      Palladium implements several development projects, including the
Feed the Future Malawi Growth Poles Project, which invests in local rural
communities to advance sustainable, climate-smart, and inclusive wealth
creation.

·      Sovereign and Palladium will collaborate around Sovereign's
Kasiya Project to provide key agricultural inputs, training, technologies, and
financing to develop and integrate smallholder farmers into the emerging high
growth agriculture value chains.

·      A central pillar of the MoU and partnership is Sovereign's
existing Conservation Farming Program, which aims to promote tried and tested
improved small-scale agricultural practices, and the creation of community
support and mentorship networks.

·

Sovereign Metals Limited (ASX: SVM; AIM: SVML) (Sovereign) has signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The Palladium Group (Palladium) - a
US-based development entity implementing several development projects in
Malawi including the Feed the Future Malawi Growth Poles Project (Growth
Poles). Growth Poles is a US$50 million project that will run from 2023 to
2028.

Palladium is a global impact firm that works to link social progress and
commercial growth. For nearly six decades, Palladium has been working with
corporations, governments, investors, communities, and civil society to
formulate strategies, build partnerships, mobilise capital, and implement
programs that have a lasting social and financial impact. With a workforce of
over 2,500 global leaders, Palladium has positively impacted the lives and
livelihoods of more than 76 million people across 90 countries; broadening
access to health, water, power, and infrastructure; building enduring,
sustainable, and transformative institutions and market systems to address
global challenges; and conserving the natural world.

Sovereign has launched several social development initiatives focused on
improved health (provision of clean water), education (scholarships and school
support), and conservation farming practices in communities located near and
within Sovereign's Kasiya Rutile-Graphite Project (Kasiya or Project) area.

The MoU identifies Sovereign as a potential anchor firm in Malawi and Kasiya
as an anchor client or "Partner Growth Pole". The MoU sets out a long-term
vision for multi-partner investment and co-development aimed at supporting
community engagement activities and scaling up the availability of commercial
agriculture across Malawi, in particular in environmentally and economically
vulnerable groups and households, to improve livelihoods for communities
around the Kasiya Project.

A central pillar of the MoU and partnership is Sovereign's existing
Conservation Farming Program (refer to Company ASX announcements dated 26
February 2024 and 15 April 2024), which aims to promote tried and tested
improved small-scale agricultural practices, and the creation of community
support and mentorship networks. The Conservation Farming Program's objective
is to substantially improve crop yields of the farming communities within and
around the Project area, thus improving food security and economic growth.

Sovereign and Palladium are already collaborating to provide Purdue Improved
Crop Storage (PICS) bags to beneficiaries of Sovereign's Conservation Farming
Program. PICS are non-chemical, hermetically sealable bags that reduce
post-harvest losses by 20-30% caused by poor storage of grains.

The MoU also establishes the foundation for the potential long-term
development of partnerships with multiple private sector firms and development
agencies, with the aim of catalysing diverse and inclusive development across
a wide area, through mechanisms such as input financing, extension support,
offtake arrangements, and complementary investments in value chain
infrastructure. The MoU expires on 18 April 2028 and can be extended by mutual
agreement.

Sovereign and Palladium Staff Standing Together with Sovereign's Conservation
Farming Beneficiaries

Sovereign's Kasiya project is one of only 11 Tier 1 i  (#_ftn1) mineral
deposits discovered in the last decade. It is the world's largest Rutile
resource and second largest flake Graphite resource, and has the potential to
be the world's largest, lowest cost, and lowest carbon producer of both
minerals.

Sovereign recognises that the Kasiya Project presents an opportunity to assist
Malawi in realising its stated Sustainable Development Goals and can directly
benefit local communities. The positive impact of the Kasiya project will be
further enabled through the development of partnerships with the Government of
Malawi, international development organizations, and the private sector.

 

ENQUIRIES

 Frank Eagar (South Africa/Malawi)  Sam Cordin (Perth)     Sapan Ghai (London)

Managing Director
Business Development
CCO

 +61(8) 9322 6322                   +61(8) 9322 6322       +44 207 478 3900

 

 Nominated Adviser on AIM and Joint Broker
 SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP             +44 20 3470 0470
 Ewan Leggat

 Charlie Bouverat

 Joint Brokers
 Stifel                                     +44 20 7710 7600
 Varun Talwar
 Ashton Clanfield

 Berenberg                                  +44 20 3207 7800
 Matthew Armitt
 Jennifer Lee

 Buchanan                                   + 44 20 7466 5000

 

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.

 

 i  (#_ftnref1) Tier 1 deposits are "Company making" mines, they are large,
long life, and low cost, i.e. >20 years, bottom quartile costs, with NPV
>$1 billion and EV >$2 billion; per MinEx Consulting, "Exploration:
Australia vs The World:, October 2023

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