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Sovereign Metals voluntarily halts trading on Australian stock market

- Sovereign Metals Ltd on Friday said it has voluntarily halted trading its securities on the Australian Securities Exchange.

Sovereign Metals is a mining exploration and development company focusing on its flagship Kasiya rutile deposit in Malawi.

It said this decision was pending an announcement regarding a response to an ASX price query, requesting that the trading halt remain until either an announcement to the market on the above or the opening of trade on ASX on January 31, whichever comes first.

Sovereign Metals also noted Mkango Resources Ltd's announcement on Thursday that it received environmental social health impact assessment approval from the Malawi Environmental Protection Authority for its Songwe Hill rare earths project.

It labelled the ESHIA approval as a significant milestone in the mining development agreement approvals process, which is requisite for obtaining a mining licence.

"While not directly associated with Sovereign's Kasiya rutile project in Malawi, [it] could be perceived as an encouraging regulatory sign," Sovereign Metals said in a statement.

It intends to release infill drilling results at Kasiya shortly, which would be included in its next mineral resource estimate at the rutile deposit.

Shares in Sovereign Metals were up 20% to 27.60 pence each in London on Friday morning.