Mining & Trade News

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) says it is reviewing reports on suspicious correspondence between former Mining and Minerals Regulatory Authority (MMRA) Director General Samuel Sakhuta and Rift Valley Resources Developments operating as Lindian Resources.

“The Bureau has received a complaint and will treat it with the urgency it deserves,” says ACB Director Gabriel Chembezi.

Mining & Trade Review has sourced conflicting letters from MMRA regarding exportation of monazite concentrate from Kangankunde mine. A letter from MMRA to Rift Valley dated October 28, 2025 signed by former Director General Samuel Sakhuta, copied to Chief Secretary in the Office of President and Cabinet and Secretary for Mining is headlined “CLARIFICATION NOTE INDICATING THAT RIFT VALLEY RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT LIMITED IS NOT BARRED FROM EXPORTING RARE EARTH AFTER PROCESSING, BENEFICIATION AND VALUE ADDITION AT KANGANKUNDE MINE IN BALAKA IN THE WAKE OF PRESIDENTIAL EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 2 OF 2025 ISSUED ON 23 RD OCTOBER 2025. “

“By definition when the Mineral ore reaches the level of producing individual rare earth Oxides, it means it has been processed, beneficiated and value addition has taken place. The Authority therefore would like to affirm that your company, Rift Valley Resources Development Limited will not be affected by the Executive Order since your submission clearly shows that you will do value addition to the Monazite Ore right here in Malawi before exporting the product to the market,” reads the letter.

But Lindian published an edited version of the letter in its ASX-release dated October 29, 2025 claiming that Malawi Government had authorized exportation of the monazite concentrate.

Reads the letter with a similar headline and date, and signed by Sakhuta published as part of Lindian’s ASX release: “The Authority therefore would like to affirm that your company, Rift Valley Resources Development Limited will not be affected by the Executive Order since your submissions show that you will do value addition to the Monazite Ore by producing a monazite concentrate through primary beneficiation right here in Malawi before exporting the concentrate to outside markets.”

The stages of processing monazite to rare earth oxides include:

1. Ore Beneficiation: The monazite ore is crushed, ground, and physically beneficiated to remove impurities.
2. Chemical Beneficiation: The ore undergoes chemical treatment to extract valuable minerals.
3. Crystallization: The beneficiated ore is crystallized to produce monazite concentrate.
4. Monazite Concentrate to Mixed Rare Earth Concentrate: The monazite concentrate is further processed to produce mixed rare earth carbonate and thorium.
5. Separation of Mixed Rare Earth Concentrate: A separation plant is used to produce mixed RE oxides.
6. Production of Individual Rare Earth Oxides: The final stage involves the production of individual rare earth oxides based on the desired product.This process is crucial for the production of rare earth elements, which are essential for various applications, including electronics, energy storage, and renewable energy technologies. 

 Lindian, which is scheduled to start commercial mining at Kangankunde in November this year will process the Kangankunde ore locally to Stage 3, which is crystallization to produce monazite concentrate contrary to the mining licence demands and requirements of the Presidential ban on raw mineral exports to process to the final stage which is the production of rare earth oxides as explained by the MMRA in the clarification letter.

The Company has been exporting monazite concentrate to its mixed rare earth concentrate facility in Kazakhstan for tests in readiness for commercial production.

Sakhuta states in the original letter from MMRA: “The Mining and Minerals Regulatory Authority received three different documents in which you include an issue of processing of Monazite Ore.”

“Firstly, your company submitted an application for a mining licence in 2022 in which you included a description that your company will process Monazite Ore into individual rare earth products, such as oxides, thorium or uranium concentrates.”

“Secondly under section 2.4 of the ESIA (Environmental and Social Impact Assessment) Report that your company submitted to Malawi Environmental Protection Authority, there is a mention that the processing of the Monazite Ore shall be up to the level of producing individual Oxides.”

“Thirdly the request that your company made to Malawi Revenue Authority, provides the list of equipment that the company would like to import for the purpose of processing, beneficiating and value addition of the Monazite up to oxides.”

Sakhuta states that the Executive Order is a fundamental national policy instrument for economic diversification and maximization of in country value retention.

But Government is also currently formulating regulations of the raw mineral export ban that contains thresholds for processing of all minerals before export, which also stand as a stumbling block

The Aussie firm purchased mineral rights for Kangankunde, a globally significant rare earth deposit and one of the world’s largest untapped rare earth deposits at US$30-million from locally owned Rift Valley Resource Developments.

Lindian is using Rift Valley’s medium scale mining licence, which has sparked an outcry from members of the Malawi public who want the company to acquire a large-scale mining licence to ensure increased benefits from the project to the impoverished country.

A holder of a medium scale mining licence is not legally required to sign a mining development agreement with government that includes free equity to government as a minority shareholder and a community development agreement as is the case with a large scale licence.

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