Sovereign Metals
After successfully exploring for natural graphite in Malawi, Apollo Group principals then discovered the world’s largest rutile deposit. Rutile is the purest and highest-grade naturally occurring form of titanium. The global supply of rutile is decreasing whilst the demand for titanium is increasing. This created opportune market conditions to develop the Kasiya project.
Institutional and other high calibre investors were brought in, and a rapid and disciplined exploration process was applied to further the project’s development. This resulted in a Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate that confirmed Kasiya’s global scale.
Market Cap
Less than a year later, the Mineral Resource Estimate upgrade positioned Kasiya as the world’s largest ever rutile deposit and second largest graphite deposit.
The significance of this deposit attracted a transformational investment by Rio Tinto, one of the world’s largest and most accomplished mining companies. This investment affirmed Kasiya’s status as one of the most significant critical mineral discoveries in recent times.
Sovereign is currently undertaking a PFS Optimisation Study at Kasiya which includes a Pilot Mining and Land Rehabilitation Program (Pilot Phase). The Pilot Phase is a critical part of Kasiya’s PFS Optimisation Study, empirical data generated from the Pilot Phase will determine optimal project excavation, material handling, processing, backfilling and rehabilitation approaches.
Apollo Group continues its collaboration with Sovereign, and in partnership with Rio Tinto, is advancing Kasiya towards becoming a major global supply source for natural rutile and graphite.
Apollo Group listed Mantra Resources on the ASX in 2006 with a valuation of A$9 million. It was acquired in 2011 by ARMZ/Uranium One in a cash takeover valued at A$1 billion.
The company’s key asset was the Mkuju River Uranium Project in Tanzania. This project was initially greenfield exploration but under Apollo’s guidance it was progressively transformed into one of the world’s best developing uranium projects.
Apollo supported Mantra throughout a major staged exploration program of around 150,000m and helped delineate a world class uranium resource of more than 150 million pounds.
This included technical studies in accordance with international best practice, incorporating a Scoping Study, Pre-Feasibility and Bankable Feasibility Studies.
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Apollo Group was highly selective in employing executives and engaging industry consultants, which provided Mantra with a leading technical, permitting, commercial and marketing team.
Apollo drew upon its expertise with in-country community relations and engagement with the Government, which was particularly important given the nature of the commodity and sensitivity of the area in which the project was located.
Apollo’s experience in global capital markets was applied to increase Mantra’s investor profile outside of the Australian market. The company was listed on the TSX and attracted major UK and Canadian institutional investors.
The growth in the company’s share price and market capitalisation is shown above.
Apollo Group became involved in Papillon Resources at an early stage in the development of the Company’s Fekola gold project in Mali, when drilling results began to demonstrate potential for a significant scale gold deposit.
With the support of existing management and shareholders, Ian Middlemas was appointed Chairman and other Principals of Apollo Group took up key positions within the company.
The new leadership then guided Papillon along a rapid exploration and development pathway, ultimately developing Papillon into the leading gold exploration company in West Africa.
Throughout the process, Apollo Group maintained active engagement with the local community and all levels of government.
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Between early 2012 and mid-2014 Apollo Group installed a highly credentialed executive and management team, with proven experience operating in Africa, and completed more than 150,000m of drilling to delineate a world class open pit-able gold resource of more than 5.0 million ounces.
In September 2014, Papillon merged with Canadian gold miner B2Gold in a deal valuing Papillon at more than A$600m.
B2Gold has an enviable track record of delivery and the Fekola mine commenced full production in November 2017.
As shown in the table above, Apollo Group was able to successfully raise capital and grow the company’s share price and market capitalisation as the project developed, with minimal dilution for shareholders.