In a big step towards bringing one of the world’s largest undeveloped rare earth deposits into production, Lindian Resources has fired the starter’s gun on the company’s world-class Kangankunde rare earths project in Malawi by kicking off early site works.
The company says Kangankunde, which sits in the southern part of Malawi bordering Mozambique, is one of the richest rare earth projects on the planet, with a whopping grade of 55 per cent total rare earth oxides (TREO).
The deposit has ultra-low iron content, which will require far less chemical use to process, cutting costs and smoothing the path through environmental approvals.
The Kangankunde deposit also has minimal uranium and thorium levels - a strategic ace up Lindian’s sleeve as European and North American regulators tighten the screws on radioactive thresholds.
The new 5-kilometre access road is now well under way, which has allowed the company to mobilise earth working machinery and prepare the ground at the project in a bid to fast-track stage one construction.
Since the haul road is ahead of schedule and due for completion in the next couple of weeks, Lindian has been able to redeploy its skilled workforce and machinery, shaving valuable time and costs from the early build schedule.
The early works include prepping the ground for processing plant infrastructure and storage facilities, with plots for management offices, equipment laydown areas and security yards already levelled and waiting for construction.
In line with the company’s policy of engaging with the regional community, Lindian has filled more than 70 per cent of onsite jobs with local workers and is rolling out free training programs to boost long-term skills, which it says should deliver plenty of economic payback to the community down the line.
Lindian Resources project delivery chairman Zac Komur said: “Through collaboration, best practice efficiencies and onsite management the current road works are ahead of schedule allowing for the company to utilise equipment and skilled personnel, delivering pre-development time and significant cost savings.”
Lindian’s 2024 feasibility study let the cat out of the bag on a set of eye-popping numbers for Kangankunde, revealing a post-tax net present value of US$555 million (A$895M) and a thumping US$84M (A$135M) in annual EBITDA across an astounding 45-year mine life.
Backed by a hefty 23.7-million-tonne resource grading 2.9 per cent total rare earth oxides (TREO), the initial phase is tipped to churn out 15,300t a year at a premium 55 per cent TREO concentrate.
More impressively, Kangankunde is firmly planted in the lowest operating cost quartile across the global rare earths industry - with a razor-thin average free-on-board operating cost of just US$2.92 per kilogram TREO.
Stage one comes with a lean-and-mean pre-production price tag of US$40M (A$66.5M), including a healthy 12.5 per cent contingency, and is expected to pay for itself in under two years. First production is pencilled in for 2026.
With site licences in place, government support on side and construction under way, Lindian’s flagship rare earths asset is now firmly on the runway.
In light of China’s clamp down on rare earths exports and the world now scrambling for alternative sources of critical minerals to fuel the clean energy revolution, Kangankunde looks primed to become a future Tier 1 supplier of rare earths to global markets.
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By James Pearson
