Lindian Resources says construction at its Kangankunde rare earths project in Malawi remains on schedule for first monazite concentrate production in December 2026, with key processing equipment installed, electrical works advancing and ore inventories building ahead of commissioning. Ore stockpiles rose to about 149,000 tonnes, up about 24,000 tonnes, or 19 percent, from September, a figure the company derives from its ore reserve estimates.
The remaining work is concentrated in power and separation. The 33 kilovolt overhead line has been commissioned to the transformer yard and both 1,250 kVA plant transformers are back on site after factory acceptance testing, with site energisation targeted for the first week of November. In the separation circuits, structural steel in the WHIMS and MGS areas is about 90 percent complete, shaking tables about 80 percent complete, and the regrind mill is installed. Initial operating staff are on board, operator training has started and outbound concentrate logistics contracts are nearing finalisation.
“Kangankunde is in the final stretch of construction,” executive director Zac Komur said. “Our target is clear: first monazite concentrate in December. The plant is taking shape, ore stockpiles are growing and our focus is on completing the remaining work and commissioning safely.”
Kangankunde’s significance is its product and its location. Monazite is a phosphate mineral rich in the light rare earths, including neodymium and praseodymium used in permanent magnets, and almost all processing capacity for it sits in China. A producing Malawian operation would give non-Chinese separation projects a second feedstock source at the moment Western governments, including the US Project Vault stockpile covered in yesterday’s edition, are paying to build supply chains outside China. The December date is the test: junior rare earth projects have a long record of commissioning slips, and Lindian has now tied its credibility to a window about six weeks away.