FORTUNA METALS LTD (ASX:FUN) - What Happens When Critical Minerals Meet A Supply Crunch Artwork

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FORTUNA METALS LTD (ASX:FUN) - What Happens When Critical Minerals Meet A Supply Crunch

September 25, 2026 • Andrew Musgrave

0:00 | 8:32

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ASX Investment Opportunity - Fortuna Metals Ltd (ASX:FUN)

A world-scale rutile story doesn’t usually appear overnight, but Mkanda has moved at a pace that’s hard to ignore. We sit down with Tom Langley, CEO of Fortuna Metals, to trace how the Mkanda Rutile Graphite Project in Malawi jumped from acquisition to an inferred resource that ranks among the top contained rutile deposits globally, and why that speed is possible when mineralisation starts at surface and stays open.

We break down what makes Mkanda geologically different from many mineral sands style projects. Tom explains how high-grade metamorphism in Malawi upgrades titanium-bearing minerals so the deposit skews heavily toward rutile, then how weathering helps reconcentrate minerals near surface. We also get into metallurgy and why it matters: bulk sample test work points to a high-purity rutile product at 96% plus TiO2 with low impurities, the sort of detail that pigment, welding and titanium metal producers care about when they think about specifications, penalties and reliable supply.

The conversation widens to the optionality that could change the economics over time. Alongside rutile, Mkanda carries graphite and shows elevated heavy rare earths like dysprosium, terbium and yttrium, plus potential zircon and monazite. We talk funding and strategy too, including why a Silicon Valley based cornerstone investor is part of the register, and what Malawi’s rail access and the route to the deep-water port at Nacala could mean for logistics.

We finish with the macro picture: tightening natural rutile supply, growing demand signals across industrial end uses, and the “blue sky” narrative around titanium and humanoid robotics. If you’re tracking ASX critical minerals, titanium dioxide feedstocks, or emerging African mining jurisdictions, this is a practical update with clear near-term catalysts. Subscribe, share the episode with a mate who follows resources, and leave us a review.

Andrew Musgrave

Welcome again to ASX Briefs, and today we welcome back Tom Langley, the CEO of Fortuna Metals, about the rapid rise of the Mkanda Rutile Graphite Project in Malawi. From acquisition to a globally significant maiden resource in under a year. Tom, great to have you with me again, and welcome back to the ASX Briefs podcast.

Tom Langley

Thanks, Andrew.

Andrew Musgrave

Now, Tom, for listeners who haven't come across Fortuna Metals before, can you introduce the company and explain how you came to be sitting on what's being called globally a significant titanium discovery in Malawi?

Tom Langley

Yeah, so we've acquired the project September last year, adjacent to Sovereign Metals Kasiya deposit, which is the world's largest rutile deposit, second largest graphite deposit. We've been very busy drilling. We made the initial discovery last year and then now been able to put out a maiden inferred resource in July of this year, which places us top six in the world for contained rutile. So, you know, this is 298 million tonnes at 0.87% rutile and 1.19% total graphitic content.

Andrew Musgrave

And with that maiden inferred resource, what allowed you to move so quickly on that?

Tom Langley

So, mineralization starts at surface, and it continues to bottom of hole. So, at the moment, mineralization is open at depth and open laterally as well. So basically, you know, shallow, quick, fast drilling. We're using hand auger predominantly on 400-meter spacings. We've now been able to infill that to 200 meter spacing. So, yeah, the speed of drilling, the access of the project as well is really good. So, all those things combined alongside that, you know, a really good technical team in country has allowed us to get all this work done quickly.

Andrew Musgrave

As you mentioned, you've described Mkanda as a top six globally ranked contained rutile deposit. Put that scale into context for us. And what makes the geology at Mkanda so amenable to low-cost near-surface mining?

Tom Langley

Yeah, it had a high metamorphic grade in Malawi, which has actually upgraded a lot of the titanium-bearing minerals. It makes it really unique. Over 80% of the titanium-bearing minerals is high grade rutile. If you look at traditional mineral sand’s deposits in Australia, it's a flip of that. So, you know, it might be 89% ilmenite, the low-grade iron titanium, and maybe 5% or 10% rutile. So, the function of the high-grade metamorphism is upgraded to rutile, and then you've got weathering over the last sort of 30, 40 million years, and it hasn't eroded and weathered away a lot of the minerals, so it's sort of stayed in situ essentially and just sort of reconcentrated at surface.

Andrew Musgrave

And in July, you confirmed a high-grade rutile product grading from your bulk sample test work. Why does that purity matter to the customers you're ultimately trying to sell into? Pigment, welding, and titanium metal producers.

Tom Langley

Yeah, so we've confirmed that we've got a 96% plus TIO2 rutile product with very low in purity, so low in tin, antimony, uranium, and thorium. These are really important just for the end uses in the downstream industries having a high quality and premium product just makes their end product a better as well.

Andrew Musgrave

And beyond rutile, the resource also carries a large graphite byproduct and elevated heavy rare earths, dysprosium, terbium, and yttrium, plus potential zircon and monazite. How much of the future value of Mkanda do you see coming from these additional streams?

Tom Langley

Yeah, that's a really interesting point, Andrew. We just saw Sovereign come out with their scoping study on their rare earths last week. That added over $700 million US to the project. So, with a very little capital injection on top, 30 million US, that added a huge amount to the overall NPV. So, given that everything we've seen today with similar rutile’s, similar graphite numbers, and now we're seeing some zircon it and heavy rare earths with the monazite and the xenotime, I think ultimately, we'd be able to put a lot of similar numbers in our PFS mid-next year.

Andrew Musgrave

From a finance perspective, you brought in Silicon Valley-based WNDR as a cornerstone investor for $8.6 million, and they now hold just over 18.5% of the register. What was the thinking behind partnering with a technology-focused investor rather than a traditional resources fund?

Tom Langley

Yeah, so it's first of all they're US based, which is really important when you look at the landscape of being a US critical minerals thing, strongly tied to that is their Silicon Valley-based, you know, enterprise view on the world. So, they're interested in tech generally, but they see an avenue to get these sort of rutile into the downstream guys, you know, humanoids, robotics, but also just being super important for the US defence. And so, it is really a US strategic angle here. and $8.6 million allows us to really push the button on all of our exploration programs and be quite aggressive.

Andrew Musgrave

Looking at things now from a macro level, Mkanda sits close to established rail and only around 900 kilometres from the deep-water port at Nicala, with Japan committing US $7 billion to that corridor. How much of an advantage is that logistics position compared to other rutile developers on your doorstep?

Tom Langley

Oh, it's amazing to be this close to rail, you know, 11 kilometres from our northern boundary, as you said, goes all the way to Nicala port in Mozambique and a pathway to market that you know is a huge strategic advantage. It lowers our cost of entry to get to get into market.

Andrew Musgrave

And Malawi isn't a jurisdiction every investor knows well. So, what have you learned about operating there and what gives you confidence in its stability as a pro-mining government?

Tom Langley

Yeah, look, I've been blown away so far operating Malawi. Easy to get all that work done. We've got a really good in-country team. So, you know, access to the project's really good. We've only 30 kilometres away from a capital city and all the support network you have that we need for it to carry out exploration programs. So, yeah, ultimately Malawi's been fantastic, and I think as you said, you know, they are very pro-mining, even though they're very early in the stage of getting their mining industry up and going. You do see Lotus Resources having operating uranium mined in central Malawi and Lindian now getting their Kangankunde rare earth mining production.

Andrew Musgrave

Now, global natural rutile supply has fallen sharply from its 2017 peak, and the US now imports 100% of its titanium sponge. How is that supply squeeze shaping the conversations you're having with potential off-take partners?

Tom Langley

Yeah, really interesting point. Rutile supply is more than halved in the last 10 years. On the back of declining production out of mines have just ceased production. And it's very hard to find these deposits that are rutile rich. So, we're in a box seat in that regard. And I think, you know, when you look at all the demand that's coming from the you know, the welding, pigment, and aerospace sectors and potentially humanoids as well, we're going to be really ramping up our production into that oncoming wave of demand.

Andrew Musgrave

And you mentioned the titanium demand from humanoid robotics as a longer-term thematic. Is that a genuine near-term driver for the company or more of a signal of where the broader titanium narrative is heading?

Tom Langley

Yeah, look, I think it is a signal of where we're heading. But a lot of these things with tech in general can come at a quicker pace and more exponentially high growth than you might expect at the moment. So, if you look at iPhones, you know, 20 years ago no one had one in their pocket, and now everyone's got an iPhone. So yeah, that's a future demand, the sort of the blue sky. But we are seeing Tesla repurpose a complete car factory into an Optimus factory now to produce the rollout of their Optimus robot. So yeah, we'll just see how that plays out. But ultimately it bodes well.

Andrew Musgrave

And finally, Tom, looking ahead, aircore drilling, an indicated resource upgrade targeted for 2027 and a PFS due to commence in December. What should investors keep an eye out for over the next two quarters?

Tom Langley

Yeah, so aircore drilling is just wrapping up at the moment. We've got another bulk sample enroute to Australia. So that'll be wrapping up sort of end of the year early next. Give us more line of sight on variability of our product. And then PFS work starting end of the year. And, yeah, ultimately, first assays coming back from the aircore drilling early November is going to be really pivotal for us. So, the 300 million ton resource we put out in July, that was only down to an eight-meter depth. We're now drilling with the aircore down to 22 meters, so a real potential there to grow the resource with these aircore results.

Andrew Musgrave

Okay, Tom. Well, it's been great to chat again. Obviously, plenty happening with the company at the moment, and we look forward to following the progress of the company at Mkanda.

Tom Langley

Awesome. Thanks, Andrew.

Andrew Musgrave

That concludes this episode of ASX Briefs. Don't forget to subscribe, and we look forward to catching you on our next episode.