Since October 2025, Fortuna Metals (ASX: FUN) has been the owner of the Mkanda and Kampini tenements which lie across 658 km² in Malawi and are prospective for rutile, graphite, rare earths and zircon

Following in the footsteps of Sovereign

Crucially, the project sits directly beside Sovereign Metals’ (ASX: SVM) Kasiya Project, which hosts the world’s largest natural rutile deposit and second largest coarse flake deposit with some of the highest natural rutile grades globally. The region’s strong logistics and infrastructure support favourable long-term economics, while geological continuity with SVM enhances Fortuna’s position.

Kasiya was valued at US$2.3bn in its Optimised Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) in January 2025 and the company is capitalised at >$350m. Although Fortuna is further behind SVM in its journey, this comparison highlights the potential uplift that successful drilling, resource growth, and feasibility de-risking can deliver. Investors can also look at St George Mining (ASX: SGQ) as another example of a re-rating as while its commodity was different (niobium), its project lay right next to one of the world’s most abundant deposits. Niobium and titanium are also both critical additives used as micro alloys in High Strength Low Alloy (HSLA) steel.

Fortuna’s moment is coming as rutile supplies dwindle

SVM did not just re-rate because of its success, but because of the growing need for high-grade natural rutile which projects like Kasiya can satisfy. Rutile is the essential feedstock for producing titanium oxide and titanium metal and titanium in turn is an important metal used in many industries, especially defence, aerospace and robotics.

Nonetheless, natural rutile supply is heading toward a major shortage, with two of the world’s largest suppliers seeing declining output as their mine lives are coming to an end, while at the same time, global demand is surging. This combination is beginning to set the stage for a favourable supply-demand deficit that positions Fortuna as a potentially high-margin and strategically important asset.

Plenty of upside potential for investors

It is too early to value Fortuna, but there are plenty of catalysts that could cause a re-rating including initial hand-auger assay results for Mkanda and early drilling at Kampini. We think the first JORC-Compliant Inferred Resource Estimate is possible in 12 months. Please see p.27 of our note for the key risks associated with an investment in Fortuna.