ASX-listed Fortuna Metals has announced the successful production of a high-quality rutile product of over 96% titanium oxide (TiO2) from the bulk sample metallurgical

testwork completed by mineral processing company Mineral Technologies, in Johannesburg, for the Mkanda rutile and graphite project, in Malawi.

In a media release, the company says a 5.4 t bulk sample was processed by multistage gravity, magnetic and electrostatic separation prior to an X-ray fluorescence analysis.

Separated fractions were processed into clean samples of rutile, monazite, zircon and ilmenite for further characterisation and classification into product samples for potential offtakers.

Fortuna says graphite flotation testwork will be completed in the third quarter of this year, ahead of additional metallurgical testwork as part of initial feasibility studies.

The final metallurgical report and results including X-ray diffraction and quantitative evaluation of minerals by scanning electron microscopy mineralogy are ongoing and due to be completed in July.

CEO Tom Langley describes the high-quality rutile product grading over 96% TiO2 produced from the company’s bulk sample testwork as an outstanding initial outcome for the company, noting that this proves the high quality of the rutile and low impurities at Mkanda.

Langley says Fortuna will now begin engaging with potential customers to verify the suitability of Mkanda’s rutile for key downstream applications.

“We look forward to a busy 2026 with major catalysts in the near future set to reposition Fortuna as not just a discovery story but a key global supplier of titanium, graphite and potentially monazite.”

BACKGROUND

The Mkanda and Kampini projects extend over an area of 658 km², about 20 km south of

ASX-listed Sovereign Metals’ Kasiya rutile project. Kasiya is the largest rutile

and the second-largest flake graphite deposit in the world and has recently identified monazite mineralisation hosting strategic heavy rare earths.

Fortuna explains that the 2026 drilling programmes are designed to delineate large areas of rutile, graphite and rare earth mineralisation across the Mkanda project.  Fortuna says the Mkanda project has demonstrated the potential for rutile and graphite mineralisation to extend over large areas across the project with further analysis efforts to be directed at potential rare earth mineralisation as a priority.

Results are anticipated to be reported regularly throughout this year and the first half of 2027. Reconnaissance first-pass drilling at Kampini is scheduled for the second half of this year.

Fortuna says it has commissioned its own in-country laboratory for the initial steps of preparing the sample for heavy mineral separation. This will reduce total assay cost and accelerate assay turnaround time to support quicker decision making and drilling guidance this year and beyond.