ASX 300-listed Lindian Resources has the pedal to the metal at its Kangankunde rare earths project in Malawi, with construction hitting key milestones as it heads towards first monazite concentrate production in December.
Kangankunde’s sheer scale has captured global attention, with the project considered one of Africa's most significant rare earths deposits. It hosts a massive 261-million-tonne resource grading an impressive 2.19 per cent total rare earth oxides (TREO). Within that inventory is a high-grade core of 26 million tonnes at a hefty 3.7 per cent TREO, earmarked as the initial feed for the stage-one plant.
The company says its construction and operational readiness activities are progressing on multiple fronts. Structural steel installation in the plant’s wet high-intensity magnetic separation and magnetic gravity separation areas is now 90 per cent complete. The installation of shaking tables is 80 per cent done, while the crucial regrind mill has been installed and piping is being laid.
On the power front, the 33-kilovolt overhead transmission line has now been commissioned through to the transformer yard. Both of its 1250 kilovolt-ampere plant transformers have passed factory acceptance testing in Malawi and are back on site, ready to be fired up in the first week of November. Lindian says this will allow time for motor testing and electrical commissioning ahead of introducing the first ore to the plant.
While construction pushes ahead, mining operations have continued to swell run-of-mine (ROM) stockpiles. The company says it now has 149,000 tonnes of ore on the ROM pad, up 19 per cent from the 125,000 tonnes held in September. Mining has also moved to the pit's upper levels, with drilling underway from the top of the hill to open up additional mining faces.
Lindian executive director Zac Komur said: “Kangankunde is in the final stretch of construction. Our target is clear: first monazite concentrate in December. The plant is taking shape, ore stockpiles are growing and our focus is on completing the remaining work and commissioning safely. Every milestone brings us closer to becoming a rare earths producer."
Lindian’s push to become Africa’s next rare earths producer is playing out against a backdrop of intense global competition for the critical minerals. Rare earths have become a focal point of supply chain security, with the International Energy Agency warning that industries from automotive and defence to electronics face significant exposure to Chinese supply constraints.
This has sparked a flurry of dealmaking, with rare earths accounting for more than nine per cent of global mining and metals transaction value in the first half of this year. Major financing and acquisitions have been seen in Australia, Brazil and the United States as the West tries to build out alternative supply chains.
Notably, stage one of the Kangankunde project is fully funded through to production, backed by a long-term strategic partnership and offtake deal with major mineral sands producer Iluka Resources. The project’s progress also appears to have the support of the Malawian government, which has a stated policy of encouraging in-country value-addition for its minerals before export.
Importantly for the company's social licence to operate, locals make up 85 per cent of Lindian's direct workforce of 3000 people, overwhelmingly Malawian nationals, currently employed across the broader construction of the project.
Lindian’s on-site concentrate production dovetails neatly with its broader downstream ambitions, having also acquired the SARECO mixed rare earth carbonate processing facility in Kazakhstan to capture more value from its Malawian product.
The company has also locked in a partnership with French processing expert Carester to develop an oxide separation facility in Kazakhstan, along with a binding offtake agreement for its future high-value heavy rare earth products.
This, combined with its portfolio of bauxite assets in Guinea and Tanzania, positions the company as an increasingly diversified international player with operations spanning multiple commodities and jurisdictions.
With the plant taking shape and power about to flow, Lindian is almost set for the transition to full-time operations. The first plant supervisor and two control room operators are on the books and operator training has begun. Key consumables have been secured and outbound logistics contracts covering rail transport and freight forwarding are now being finalised for execution ahead of the first shipment.
As the clock ticks down to its December production target, Lindian appears to be in the box seat and speeding towards delivering a new, large-scale source of rare earths into a market that is crying out for supply chain diversity.
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By Murray Ward
