Fortuna Metals (ASX:FUN) flags high grade, near surface rutile at Mkanda Project

Drill Results Put Mkanda on the Map

Fortuna Metals (ASX:FUN) has just flagged extensive, high-grade rutile mineralisation from drilling at its Mkanda project.

For a bit of context, since October 2025, Fortuna Metals has owned the Mkanda and Kampini tenements, which cover 658 km² in Malawi and are prospective for rutile and graphite.

What makes this acquisition strategically interesting is the location.

These projects sit right next to Sovereign Metals and appear to be on the continuation of the same broader geological trend that hosts the Kasiya deposit. In other words, Fortuna has positioned itself beside one of the most talked-about rutile developments in the region, on geology that the market already recognises as capable of hosting large-scale mineralisation.

For investors assessing Fortuna’s path toward production and long-term value creation, it helps to step back and look at two things.

First, how the company originated and why it has pivoted into this asset base.

Second, how management is now positioning the story, not just as a “good drill result,” but as a potential solution into a tightening rutile market.

That last point matters. If the projected rutile deficit starts widening materially from 2027 onward, then credible new supply options can re-rate quickly, especially when they sit in the right neighbourhood, on the right geology, and with a clear pathway from discovery through to development.

What are the Best ASX Stocks to invest in right now?

Check our buy/sell tips

Next Door to Kasiya’s Geological Trend

Fortuna is reporting near-surface intercepts starting at roughly 10 metres depth, including:

10 m at 1.62% rutile in MHA0050, ending in 2.15% rutile mineralisation

9 m at 1.30% rutile in MHA0057

multiple other 9 to 10 m intercepts in the ~0.85% to 1.17% rutile range

On grade, it is worth keeping perspective.

Sovereign Metals has guided the market to a broadly around 1% average rutile grade at its Kasiya deposit setting, so seeing Fortuna’s early drilling repeatedly land in and around that zone, with some higher-grade hits, is an encouraging signal for continuity.

That said, these numbers are still a snapshot, not the full picture.

We do not yet have the complete dataset to confidently talk about overall average grade across the system. At this stage, the project is still in the “prove scale and continuity” phase. The market should treat these intercepts as highly encouraging, but incomplete, until the remaining assays fill in the map and show how consistent the mineralisation is across the broader area. (this will be the next milestones to create a re-rating ofr fortuna metals).

Market Comparison Setup: The Sovereign Valuation Anchor

The geological language matters here too, because it speaks to why the rutile can sit close to surface.

Fortuna is framing Mkanda as a very similar style of weathered province to Kasiya, where tropical weathering concentrates rutile in place. That aligns with how Sovereign itself describes Kasiya as a residual placer style system formed by weathering and concentration in situ, rather than transported heavy mineral sands.

And this is where the “why it matters” piece comes in for investors.

If Fortuna Metals continues to demonstrate continuity on comparable geology right next door, the market will naturally start making comparisons to the closest reference point. Sovereign is currently valued at roughly the mid A$400 millions level, so even early evidence of a potentially similar style system can start shifting expectations, provided the next batches of assays keep supporting scale and consistency.

The Investors Takeaway for FUN

The key takeaway is that Mkanda is starting to show early signs of de-risking from a geological perspective.

These initial intercepts suggest continuity at a smaller scale, which is exactly what you want to see at this stage. But investors should still treat the dataset as incomplete. The real confidence point comes when continued results demonstrate strong continuity across the broader target area, not just within isolated holes.

From here, the next practical milestones are clear.

1) Steady release of the remaining hand-auger assays (630 holes)
This is the near-term catalyst because it will start to “join the dots” across the project. The key question is whether the roughly 4 km by 3 km anomaly footprints translate into continuous, drill-defined mineralisation corridors, rather than patchy pods.

2) Aircore drilling from around May 2026
This is the more important next step. Aircore is what tests the depth and continuity down to the saprock boundary, which matters because a thicker mineralised profile can materially improve economics.

If aircore shows the rutile horizon persists with thickness and consistency at depth, that is when the story can shift from “encouraging geology” to something the market starts underwriting as a development-scale rutile system.