Lindian targets December production as Kangankunde enters commissioning

Kangankunde moves into commissioning

Lindian Resources Limited (ASX:LIN) is entering the most consequential phase yet at its Kangankunde rare earths project in Malawi: commissioning. Dry testing is underway across multi-gravity separators, shaking tables, wet high-intensity magnetic separators and associated pumps, with integrated circuit commissioning scheduled for late November and first monazite concentrate production targeted for December 2026. The timetable remains a target, dependent on completing installation, testing, wet commissioning and the gradual introduction of ore.

The company had established approximately 125,000 tonnes of ore on the run-of-mine pad by the end of September, after 14 production blasts. That inventory is intended to give the plant feed during start-up rather than relying entirely on simultaneous mining, a milestone previously covered in the 125,000-tonne ore stockpile update. The 33kV powerline is complete, major power infrastructure is in place and the company says the broader power programme is running about 20% below its approved budget.

Export systems and local operating base take shape

Production is only half the near-term test. Lindian is working with the Reserve Bank of Malawi and NBS Bank on export declarations, proceeds reconciliation and shipping procedures, while logistics teams coordinate rail transport, freight forwarding and product sampling. A new head office in Lilongwe and an expanded in-country team are intended to support the transition from construction to operations.

NBS Bank and the NICO Group have also expanded their relationship with Lindian beyond the previously announced US$11.6 million equipment finance and working capital facility, which remains undrawn. Plans include a bank branch and ATM near the mine, employee banking arrangements and financial-literacy programmes across the surrounding communities. The branch remains subject to final site arrangements, but the partnership gives the project a local institutional framework as it approaches production.

Full SARECO ownership creates a downstream platform

The quarter also cemented Lindian’s attempt to build beyond concentrate. It completed the acquisition of the remaining 49% of the SARECO mixed rare earth carbonate facility in Kazakhstan for US$20 million, giving it full ownership, production exposure and marketing control. The transaction left the company with $45 million in cash at quarter end, or $62 million including undrawn facilities, after $24 million of Kangankunde project spending and $28.8 million of SARECO acquisition consideration during the quarter. The move builds on the full SARECO ownership deal, while also increasing the capital and operational responsibilities Lindian now carries.

ANSTO’s testwork reported 98% neodymium-praseodymium extraction, 96% total rare earth extraction and approximately 96% overall NdPr recovery from concentrate to final MREC. The final product was certified exempt from radioactive transport and handling requirements under applicable IAEA standards. Those results are testwork outcomes, not commercial production results, but they provide the stated technical basis for processing Kangankunde concentrate through SARECO.

Heavy rare earth feedstock and Carester route advance

Lindian also holds an exclusive option over 13,389 tonnes of Aktau material in Kazakhstan, with a 12-month pathway to evaluate a further 15,000 to 20,000 tonnes. Sampling and metallurgical work will determine whether the feed can support mixed heavy rare earth carbonate containing dysprosium, terbium and yttrium, extending the role of SARECO beyond Kangankunde’s planned feed. The company had previously disclosed the 13,389-tonne Aktau option, but the material remains subject to evaluation, acquisition terms and approvals.

Carester and Tetra Tech are advancing a definitive feasibility study for a proposed 8,000-tonne-per-year rare earth oxide separation facility at Stepnogorsk. A 10-year offtake agreement covers 70% of SEGH carbonate actually produced, subject to an annual cap of 8,750 dry metric tonnes, while Carester has a right of first refusal over 70% of SARECO’s potential MHREC production. Supply obligations remain conditional on commercial production and the required approvals.

Court appeal adds a live legal variable

Against that operational progress, Lindian disclosed that the Malawi Supreme Court has remitted the previously dismissed Deep Blue Sea case back to the High Court on appeal. The company says it maintains the claims are baseless and intends to defend its position; no trial date has been set. The disclosure does not change the December commissioning schedule stated in the announcement, but it adds a legal matter to a project already moving from construction into production.

The immediate operational milestones are now unusually concrete: complete equipment testing, begin integrated commissioning in November, establish export procedures and introduce ore into the plant. Whether Kangankunde can turn a well-stockpiled pad and partially tested circuit into saleable concentrate in December will provide the clearest test yet of Lindian’s mine-to-market strategy.