Lindian Resources: Two Chinese men detained, charged after trespassing at rare earths project in Malawi

Two Chinese foreign nationals were among a group of people detained over the weekend after they were allegedly found at the site of Lindian Resources’ rare earths project in Malawi. Security guards employed by the listed, Perth-based company apprehended the group at the Kangankunde project, 90km north of the city of Blantyre. The two Chinese nationals, who were allegedly collecting geological samples, were handed over to local police and reportedly later charged. In a statement to the ASX on Tuesday, Lindian branded the incident “a serious breach of site security and a concerning act of industrial trespass, particularly given the strategic nature of the Kangankunde asset”. “The individuals were detained by local authorities after being found unlawfully on site allegedly attempting to collect geological samples without consent,” the company said. “The matter is being investigated by local law enforcement and relevant security agencies, with Lindian offering full co-operation to ensure all legal avenues are followed and site safety and integrity is upheld. “This event underscores the critical importance of Kangankunde in the global rare earths supply chain at a time of increasing geopolitical and trade tensions, particularly amid tariff escalations between the United States and China, where rare earth access is of central strategic concern.” Lindian is targeting first production at the project — which it claims is the world’s largest and highest-grade undeveloped rare earths resource, with an estimated stage one mine life of more than45 years — in 2026. The company employs 14 full-time security guards but it is believed this was not the first case of trespass. Rare earth metals are highly sought after for their use in magnets and defence industries and Lindian China has control of almost the entire supply chain and recently imposed harsher restrictions on exports of the commodity after the White House introduced tariffs on imports. This has sparked further tensions between the two superpowers. Lindian executive chairman Rob Martin said the company took site safety and security “extremely seriously”, especially with pre-construction works well under way. “To find foreign nationals on an active unmapped haul road allegedly taking geological samples is concerning specifically with the current geopolitical nature of the rare earths market,” Mr Martin said. “We will continue to work with the authorities to ensure that the company’s sovereignty and security are maintained to the highest standards.” Lindian announced earlier this month that early-stage site works had begun following construction of a new 5km access road in February. The company has a strong local workforce, with more than 70 per cent of current site-based roles filled by local workers.