REG - Sovereign Metals Ltd - Successful Rehabilitation Trials

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RNS Number : 1852Z  Sovereign Metals Limited  02 April 2026

 

NEWS RELEASE I 2 APRIL 2026

SUCCESSFUL Rehabilitation trials and community partnerships at Kasiya

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

·    Critical DFS workstream de-risked - Mine Closure and Rehabilitation
Plan based on empirical field data from Sovereign's successful pilot mining
and rehabilitation trial.

·    Second year of rehabilitation trials near completion - Extended
programme builds on proven first-year results and demonstrates that land can
be rehabilitated post mining, with refined rehabilitation methods improving
crop yields by 520% over multiple seasons.

·   Community partnership deepens - Participating farmers to establish a
farming co-operative, a central pillar of Sovereign's post-closure social
transition strategy, to ensure sustainable results well beyond the completion
of the trial.

·    Supports IFC collaboration - Multi-year rehabilitation outcomes
provide irrefutable empirical evidence of alignment with IFC Performance
Standards, closure and rehabilitation planning incorporated in the DFS and
ESIA.

Sovereign Metals Limited (ASX:SVM; AIM:SVML; OTCQX:SVMLF) (Sovereign or the
Company) is pleased to announce that its second year of rehabilitation trials
at the Kasiya Rutile-Graphite Project (Kasiya or the Project) is nearing
completion during the upcoming harvest season in Malawi.  The pilot mining,
backfilling, and rehabilitation program is a key workstream and input into the
Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS), which is being completed under the
oversight of the Sovereign-Rio Tinto Technical Committee.

 

Figures 1 & 2: Pilot mining site post-mining and following rehabilitation.

The rehabilitation trials provide practical, multi-year evidence demonstrating
Sovereign's alignment with international rehabilitation, environmental, and
community good-practice standards. Empirical data from the trials has been
used to prepare the Mine Closure and Mine Rehabilitation Plans, which are now
integrated into the mining, backfilling and post-mining closure planning -
critical components for project bankability and alignment with the standards
required by development finance institutions.

The rehabilitation programme has also contributed to a significant community
development outcome. After two years of close collaboration, the 28 local
farmers involved in the trials have formally requested that Sovereign remains
at the trial site and support them in establishing a farming co-operative.
This represents a strong community endorsement of the program's value and is a
central pillar of Kasiya's post-closure social transition strategy -
demonstrating that the Project can deliver lasting economic benefits to local
communities well beyond the mine life.

The outcomes directly complement the recently announced collaboration with the
International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group,
which is supporting integration of IFC Performance Standards into the
Project's DFS and Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), and
strengthening Kasiya's pathway to bankable development and international
project financing.

Sovereign Metals Managing Director and CEO Frank Eagar commented:

"Sovereign's primary objective is to deliver sustainable returns for all
stakeholders, including shareholders and local communities. Not only will the
overwhelming success and empirical data collected through this pilot mining
and rehabilitation trial underpin the DFS accuracy, but it also demonstrates
that land post mining can be successfully rehabilitated and our ability to
improve agricultural productivity. The 5-fold increase in maize yields will
enable unprecedented and immediate secondary economic benefits. The emerging
co-operative model is a  practical example of our commitment in action -
transforming mined land into more productive farmland while equipping local
communities with the skills and infrastructure to thrive independently."

PROVEN REHABILITATION RESULTS

The second year of trials builds on the success of the first year, which
delivered maize yields of 5.2 tonnes per hectare versus the regional average
of 1 tonne per hectare - a fivefold increase that confirmed post-mining land
can achieve superior agricultural productivity compared to pre-mining land,
which loses crop carrying capacity at 3 to 4% per annum.

Sovereign's rehabilitation approach is designed to use agricultural inputs
while maximising long-term agricultural sustainability. Lime, fertiliser and
biochar were applied during the first year of rehabilitation, with only
targeted supplementation in the second year where specific deficiencies in
basic nutrients were identified. Rehabilitation activities are conducted under
a no-tillage, minimal soil disturbance principle. No heavy machinery is
permitted on rehabilitated soils; all activities are undertaken by hand to
preserve soil structure and the effectiveness of applied ameliorants. This
simple, replicable approach is specifically designed to be adopted and
maintained by local farming communities beyond mine closure.

DIVERSIFIED CROPPING SYSTEM

The second year of trials has expanded the rehabilitation approach into a
diversified multi-cropping system, combining maize with bamboo (Giant Bamboo -
Dendrocalamus asper), winter beans, grass fodder and groundnuts. First-year
results confirmed that bamboo and maize co-exist with minimal competition,
functioning in a symbiotic manner that supports long-term land productivity.
Through the intercropping approach, local farmers were able to exceed their
usual crop yields, while, in parallel, the Bamboo has been allowed to mature
as a long-term carbon and soil remediation solution.  The multi-cropping
approach provides participating communities with a wider range of food, cash
and fodder crops - supporting year-round agricultural viability and the
transformation from subsistence to commercial farming on rehabilitated land.

Second-year crop yields are expected to reach the first-year benchmark of 5.2
tonnes per hectare when harvested in mid-2026.

 

Figures 3 & 4: Bamboo and maize intercropping system & Sovereign's
rehabilitation showing maize intercropped with bamboo (February 2026).

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

Farmer engagement and participation are central to the long-term success of
Kasiya's rehabilitation strategy. The rehabilitation approach uses simple
agronomic methods carried out largely by hand, ensuring that local communities
can sustain and build on the improved farming practices beyond mine closure.

Sovereign has worked closely with local farmers over the past two years, who
have been integral to the success of the rehabilitation program. This
deepening partnership has resulted in participating farmers formally
requesting that Sovereign remains involved at the trial site and provide
support in establishing a farming co-operative - a strong endorsement of the
program's value to the local communities. The development of community-led
farming co-operatives forms a central pillar of Sovereign's post-closure
social transition strategy. The Company plans to continue working with local
farmers throughout 2026, with a view to establishing a replicable model that
can be scaled across the broader Kasiya project area as mining progresses.

Figure 5: Rehabilitation site farmers with agreements on setting up a farming
co-operative.

 

Figures 6-8: Images showing the progression of mining, backfilling and
rehabilitation at

Sovereign's Rehabilitation Trail Site.

 

 Enquiries
 Frank Eagar, Managing Director & CEO

 South Africa / Malawi

 +27 21 140 3190

 Sapan Ghai, CCO

 London

 +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 Broker                                   
 Stifel                                        +44 20 7710 7600
 Varun Talwar
 Ashton Clanfield

 

 

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.

 

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