Lindian Resources to invest K203bn in rare earth mining

Lindian Resource Limited chief executive officer Alistair Stephens says the firm will invest over $200 million (about K203 billion) in the exploration and extraction of rare earths at Kangankunde mine in Balaka District.

Speaking on Friday when Minister of Mining Albert Mbawala toured the mining site and held discussions with the community, he said the firm is currently doing a feasibility study on the Kangankunde Hills which has minerals such as  monazite and carbonatite.

Stephens said: “We are in a transaction with a company called Referral Resources who were the first to obtain a licence to do mining here and we are buying the company.

“We will now commence the exploration and development of this area where we will be mining monazite which we will sell on the market.

“The monazite mineral contains elements called rare earths which are important minerals in the production of electric vehicles and mobile phone equipment.”

He said the company will be working on Kangankunde Hill from 2024 once a feasibility study is completed and it will take over 50 years to finish extracting the minerals.

“We will always be in touch with the community as they will be our neighbour. We will do so many corporate social responsibility activities for the communities and many jobs will be created for the people around this area,” he said.

In his remarks, Mbawala said Kangankunde Mine has over 100 million metric tonnes of the minerals, saying the mine has the potential to improve the country’s economy.

“Government is committed to mining that is why it set aside mining as a stand-alone ministry and in two to three years to come, Malawi will have more mining sites which will help transform the country,” he said.

Mbawala urged the public to always ask for any information they may want regarding the whole mining process.

“We are doing everything transparently and people can come to our ministry to hear what we are doing about the mining development agreement with the company,” he said.

Senior Chief Chanthunya said the mining project will help to change the face of the area due to a number of corporate social responsibility activities.

“I will work with the district council to ensure that people of this area benefit from the mining project. We hope that this marks the beginning of a new life for the community,” he said.

The 2022 Malawi Government Annual Economic Report shows that growth in the mining sector has lately been on the decline falling from 7.4 percent in 2019 to 3.1 percent in 2020.

This year, growth for the mining sector is projected to reach 4.6 percent with the expectation that demand for quarry aggregate will increase.

For 2023, growth for the sector is projected at five percent with the expectation that mining and mineral exploration will continue to grow as more miners obtain exploration licences.