Australian miner Lindian Resources has marked a significant milestone at its flagship Kangankunde rare earths project in Malawi, with the arrival of a crucial mining fleet bringing the company closer to its production target.
Fleet Delivery and Site Momentum Build
The core fleet, essential for Lindian's owner-operator mining model, is now on site. It includes a dozer, multiple excavators, wheel loaders, a grader, articulated dump trucks, and a drill rig. This equipment will support initial mining activities and the construction of a tailings storage facility.
With early site works completed, construction activity is accelerating on multiple fronts. The mobile workshop facility, designed to maintain the Komatsu fleet, is progressing with earthworks finished and structural fabrication underway.
Infrastructure development is advancing rapidly across the project. Construction of 10 VIP accommodation units and a mess hall is nearly complete, with delivery expected mid-month to house the team from Obsideo Consulting, Lindian's processing plant partner.
Strategic Infrastructure Takes Shape
Other critical path items are falling into place. Malawi’s Chief Inspector of Explosives has approved the plans for the project's explosives magazine, with site clearing now in train. The administrative building's foundations are laid, ready to become the operational hub housing offices, technical workspaces, and a site clinic.
On the utilities front, work on the fuel farm – featuring two 40,000-litre bulk storage tanks – is progressing well. Meanwhile, ESCOM Malawi is installing overhead power lines to support the project's first-stage operations.
Processing plant development remains ahead of schedule, with detailed engineering finished. Obsideo Consulting is set to mobilise to site next month to begin civil works.
A World-Class Deposit in a Strategic Market
The Kangankunde project is underpinned by substantial resources. It hosts a probable reserve of 23.7 million tonnes at 2.9% total rare earths oxide (TREO), supported by a larger indicated resource of 61 million tonnes at 2.43% TREO. This cements its status as one of the world's most significant undeveloped, high-grade rare earths deposits.
Lindian's push has been bolstered by a recent $91.5 million capital raise and a strategic 15-year offtake agreement with Iluka Resources. The deal secures a buyer for 6,000 tonnes per annum of concentrate, which will feed Iluka’s Eneabba refinery in Western Australia.
The project's advancement comes amid a growing global urgency to diversify rare earths supply chains away from China, highlighted by recent export curbs and renewed geopolitical interest in alternative sources like Greenland.
With first production targeted for late 2026, Lindian Resources is positioning the Kangankunde project to become a notable new supplier in the strategically vital rare earths sector.
