Australia’s Lindian Begins Mining at Malawi Rare Earths Project

Australia’s Lindian Resources has begun mining at its Kangankunde rare earths project in Malawi, marking a key milestone for a project that aims to help diversify global supplies of the critical minerals used in permanent magnets beyond China.

The company carried out its first controlled production blast at the open-pit mine, transitioning the project from development into mining operations.

The start of mining comes as governments in the United States, Europe and elsewhere seek to build alternative rare earth supply chains to reduce reliance on China, which dominates the mining, processing and refining of the minerals used in electric vehicles, wind turbines and defence applications.

Kangankunde is one of Africa’s best-known undeveloped rare earth deposits and hosts predominantly light rare earth elements, including neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr), the two most valuable components used in high-performance permanent magnets.

The company must now move from mining to producing a saleable concentrate, a stage that will test whether the project can overcome operational challenges including ore processing, reagent supplies, transport logistics and power availability.

Malawi is landlocked, meaning concentrates would likely be transported through neighbouring Mozambique to export ports on the Indian Ocean, adding to logistics costs.

Rare earth processing also requires large volumes of chemical reagents, particularly sulfuric acid in many processing routes, exposing projects to supply chain risks. Industry analysts have highlighted reagent availability, metallurgy and NdPr recoveries as key determinants of profitability for new rare earth mines.

Prices for neodymium and praseodymium have been volatile in recent years amid changing Chinese production quotas, fluctuating demand from the electric vehicle and magnet sectors, and geopolitical tensions over critical mineral supply chains.

Like many emerging producers outside China, Lindian will also need to secure processing arrangements and long-term offtake agreements, as most global rare earth separation capacity remains concentrated in China.

Kangankunde is expected to become one of the few rare earth projects in Africa to enter production, alongside developments in countries including Tanzania and Angola, as governments and manufacturers seek to diversify critical mineral supplies.

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