Lindian Resources can now significantly increase its rare earths mining area by almost three-fold at its Kangankunde project in Malawi after receiving departmental approval for its stage two modular expansion plan.
In a further positive step forward in the company’s plans to supercharge its stage-two expansion of the world-class rare earths project, Malawi’s Mining and Minerals Regulatory Authority approved Lindian’s application to expand its mining licence area to 2500 hectares (ha), up from 900ha.
The achievement comes hot on the heels of Lindian’s recent deal for a massive offtake agreement and potential cornerstone funding with critical mineral powerhouse and ASX-listed Iluka Resources, which has a current market value of more than $2.5 billion.
Lindian management says the expanded mining footprint will bolster a targeted stage one production output of 15,300 dry metric tonnes per annum (tpa) of monazite concentrate up to a possible 75,000tpa to 100,000tpa.
It cautions the potentially massive jump in output is not a forecast or production target, but is based on the huge increase in mineable land it can sink its mining teeth into.
The globally significant Kangankunde rare earths project has a JORC-compliant 261-million-tonne mineral resource and an initial life-of-mine of 45 years.
Expansion of the mining licence area provides Lindian with the regulatory backing to explore the options to substantially boost its production capacity by scaling up operations and developing critical project infrastructure.
The company plans to target its stage two modular expansion in parallel with the project’s stage one processing plant development.
Lindian Resources executive chairman Robert Martin said: “The upgrade of our stage-two expansion area from an exploration licence to a mining licence allows Lindian to work in parallel on our larger stage two expansion while using the learnings from the development of our stage one production facility to ensure that we optimise our processing flowsheets and recoveries. This will also allow Lindian to capitalise on our ability to be the next rare earth producer to market and to capture a larger market share.”
The Iluka agreement, announced last week, will see the critical mineral stalwart chip in a US$20 million (A$30.6 million) construction loan, accompanied by a 15-year offtake deal for 6000tpa, or a total of 90,000t of Kangankunde’s premium monazite concentrate.
The super high-grade deposit will produce a premium rare-earth concentrate that rocks the scales at 55 per cent total rare earth oxides (TREO), with near-20 per cent of total oxides consisting of the valuable magnet rare earths of neodymium and praseodymium, which are critical for use in renewable energy applications and electric vehicle motors.
Kangankunde’s stage one expected production of 15,300t of monazite concentrate will pump out about 1600t of the two magnet metals over its whopping mine life of 45 years, which could grow exponentially due to the huge increase in mining area and massive resource on hand.
The project comes with an anticipated pre-production capex of US$40 million and operating costs of US$2.92 per kilogram of rare earth oxides, leading management to believe the project hovers in the much-coveted lowest cost quartile globally.
Lindian’s agreement with Iluka appears to be perfect timing for the duo, with Iluka chasing feed for its under-development Eneabba rare earths refinery in Western Australia’s Mid West region. The commission process at Australia’s first government-backed rare earths facility is expected to kick off in 2027.
With talk of the Albanese-led Labor Government considering the introduction of a magnet rare earths price floor mechanism, possibly in line with United States President Donald Trump’s much-heralded support for the US rare earths industry, Iluka could be in the box seat to pump as much material as possible into the new refinery.
Iluka also has a right of first refusal for additional long-term offtake material from Kangankunde of up to 25,000tpa for 15 years, subject to Iluka providing a 50 per cent debt funding offer for the stage two capital cost expansion.
The Kangankunde project is gaining momentum with positive news aplenty in recent months and may receive a further boost to its Iluka tie-in, if the Federal Government comes to the party with a rare earths pricing deal.
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By Craig Nolan
