Lindian secures rig for African rare earths probe

Lindian Resources is set to embark on a 12,500m resource definition drilling program at the company’s brand new Kangankunde rare earths project in Malawi after enlisting a drill rig to roll in later this month. The drilling is designed to probe the project’s historic resource and an extensive area of surface mineralisation measuring 650m-long by 400m-wide.

Lindian has called in a fleet of earth moving equipment for road clearing and drill pad preparation ahead of its major exploration push with the drill rig to show later this month. The rig will punch out 10,000m of RC drilling and a further 2500m of diamond drilling. The work will underpin metallurgical and geotechnical works in addition to a feasibility study and mineral resource statement further down the line.

Lindian’s extensive surface mineralisation was defined after an expedition of geological mapping. The large target is a carbonatite intrusive and consists of mixed carbonate breccia with visible monazite mineralisation. Monazite is the main rare earths-bearing mineral in the Kangankunde deposit. A zone enveloping the target has been identified that is in some places up to 100m wide. The enveloping zone contains mixed carbonatite mineralisation and altered host rock mineralisation.

The company has also received preliminary assays from a single batch of isolated rock chip samples of mineralised rock from the project. The early results show a monazite content of 5.6 per cent and a total rare earth oxide content of 2.6 per cent. Of its total rare earths taster, 21 per cent is a combination of neodymium and praseodymium, two highly sought after rare earths that are very much part of the electric vehicle revolution. The assays detected a low level of radioactive elements – a welcome revelation as high levels radioactive material can cause health-related and environmental headaches.

Lindian Resources Chief Executive Officer, Alistair Stephens said: “Kangankunde is the worlds’ best undeveloped rare earths project, and this program is instrumental in the assessment of the extent and potential of rare earth mineralisation with respect to its grade and tonnage.”

Kangankunde is a serious rare earths accumulation and likely one of the largest outside of China. It hosts an outdated resource that still requires updating and confirming of 2.53 million tonnes grading 4.24 per cent rare earths oxide for 107,000 tonnes of rare earths oxide when using a cut-off grade of 3.5 per cent. Notably. the mineralised system is exposed at the surface and open at depth providing an exciting question mark around just how big the full extent of the deposit might be.

The project’s economics have not been independently updated since 2011 and since then, neodymium and praseodymium have become a thing as the world clamours to get a piece of the electric vehicle and clean energy markets.

Lindian says supply of the two key rare earths will fall into deficit of about 20,000 tonnes per annum by 2025.

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