Mining Review Malawi

10/08/2026

10/08/2026

Editorial Opinion

Legal threats are not a solution to address Kangankunde licence issues, Mr Kabunga

It is unfortunate that Tanzanian entrepreneur now Australian national who happens to be the founder of Lindian Resources Asimwe Kabunga has resorted to use legal threats against the Malawi Government as it is currently solving the controversy involving the use of a medium scale mining licence for the world class Kangankunde Rare Earth deposit in Balaka using due legal processes.

On his official LinkedIn page, Mr Kabunga who is also the largest shareholder in Lindian said “𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟴 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗢𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻.”

We join officials at the Ministry of Mining in condemning Mr Kabunga for such a threat which is seemingly meant to bar the Malawi Government from acting on the Kangankunde rot, which has seen his Australian listed company controversially using a medium scale mining licence that government granted to a local company, Rift Valley Resources Development.

We would like to advise Mr Kabunga that despite that Malawi and his original homeland Tanzania enjoy good bilateral relations, it can certainly anger Tanzanians for a Malawian to be flexing his legal muscles over a globally significant vast mineral resource, the size of Kangankunde, in Tanzania.

Malawians, who are pushing to have that licence upgraded to large scale status led by Speaker of the National Assembly Right Honourable Sameer Suleman, are not fools Mr Kabunga. They are manifesting their support for State President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika's vision to ensure that Malawi’s minerals are a catalyst for its economic development as reflected in Malawi 2063.

Certainly, even in Tanzania, a rare earth mine that is already placing your Company, Lindian, formed just a few years ago as one of the big 10 rare earth producers in a few years coming. cannot be classified as medium scale and be exploited without any local shareholding nor state equity.

We, therefore, advise you, Mr Kabunga, to stay silent on this issue while Malawi Government authorities sort it out with Lindian management.

We also trust that you will continue to respect Malawi, the warm heart of Africa, which has given you freedom to control this multigenerational rare earth deposit that the world is counting on.
Certainly, some regimes in Africa would have snatched this asset from your noose without even giving you and your partners any hearing. Legal threats are, therefore, not a solution, Mr Kabunga.

10/08/2026

Government kickstarts enforcement measures on Kangankunde mining licence

By Staff Reporter

The Malawi Government has kickstarted enforcement measures against Rift Valley Resources Development, concerning operations of the Kangankunde Mine, that may lead to revocation or suspension of the Company’s mineral rights.

ASX-Listed Lindian Resources is operating the Kangankunde Mining Licence using the Rift Valley licence as it bought 100% shareholding in the Company for US$30-millkion.

Highly placed sources at the Ministry of Mining tell Mining & Trade Review that the measures are being undertaken systematically while taking into account legal complications.

Rift Valley Directors indicated to Mining & Trade Review that they have nothing to do with the Company following the takeover by Lindian.

Ironically, the sources at the Ministry indicate that the Ministry have continued to write Rift Valley as licence owners over compliance issues at Kangankunde because no ownership changes for the licence were reported to the Ministry.

They say the Ministry is infuriated because Rift Valley has been unresponsive to its letters regarding compliance to mining licence conditions.

Minister of Mining Honourable Thoko Tembo in his response to Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources and Climate Change’s oversight visit to the mine also acknowledged missing of outstanding documentation.

“Acquisition of shares in a company does not automatically transfer the mineral licence. Compliance with licence conditions is not optional,” said Tembo.

He said the Ministry, Mining and Minerals Regulatory Authority (MMRA) and Attorney General’s office have started the process of enforcing compliance to requirements of the Mines and Minerals Act 2023 on Rift Valley.

“Government wants to ensure company’s compliance or it will face consequences of non-compliance,”

Tembu also said that the Ministry has tasked MMRA to work on determination of appropriate licence category after noticing the increased scale of operations.

Speaker of the National Assembly Sameer Suleman and other MPs are demanding upgrading of the licence to large scale to enable increased benefits for Malawi from the mine including government acquiring minority shareholding.

Meanwhile, Lindian has released a statement of Australian Stock Exchange saying Government has cleared the mining project of all suspected anomalies.

10/08/2026

Govt urged to expediate formalisation of ASMs

By Chisomo PHIRI

Mining engineer Dennis Mkandawire has urged the government to abandon the continued use of raids by security officers against Artisanal and Small-scale Miners (ASM), arguing that the approach has failed to formalize the country's mining sector.

https://www.miningtradenews.com/mobile/view%20article.php?article=505

09/08/2026

Government hits back at Lindian founder

By Staff Reporter

Government says it regards a statement from founder and largest shareholder in Lindian Resources, Asimwe Kabunga, on the controversy surrounding the mining licence for the Kangankunde Rare Earth Mine as a threat as it has initiated action against the Company.

Lindian is controversially using a medium scale mining licence to run the mine, which hosts a globally significant resource in so doing depriving Malawians of benefits associated with large scale mining.

A high ranking official in the Ministry of Mining tells Mining & Trade Review that by refering to the Malawi Supreme Court past order to Malawi Government not to interfere with the medium scale licence, Mr Kabunga is legally threatening the government.

But he says government is not awed by the threats as it is exploring actions against the Company

The official, who declined to be mentioned, says the Ministry is angered by the behaviour of Lindian because the Company is ignoring letters from the Government as it seeks to address the issue.

09/08/2026

Lindian founder responds to calls to upgrade Kangankunde licence
By Staff Reporter

Founder and Former Executive Chairman of Lindian Resources Asimwe Kabunga has responded to calls from a cross section of Malawians led by Speaker of the National Assembly Sameer Suleman to upgrade the medium scale mining licence that the Australian-listed firm is using to run the world class Kangankunde Rare Earth Mining Project in Balaka to large scale.

The large-scale mining licence will enable Malawi negotiate a Mining Development Agreement (MDA) for the country’s due benefits in the mine including government acquiring minority shareholding as it is stipulated in the Mines and Minerals Act (2023). With the large scale licence, members of the community will also have to negotiate a Community Development Agreement that allocates a fraction of the mine’s earnings for community development projects selected by the privileged communities.

In his LinkedIn post, Kabunga acknowledges that there has been a lot of noise over the past few days concerning Lindian operations in Malawi.

He says: “As the founder and still the single largest shareholder, and someone deeply familiar with the project's origins, I want to provide some factual clarity. The transition from a medium to a large scale licence is 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦; it is the exact roadmap we envisioned for this 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦.”

“Furthermore, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟴 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗢𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻. I was reminded of this strong partnership when a friend shared the attached 2022 publication from my tenure, which perfectly captures the mutual goodwill built into this project.”

The Tanzanian-born Australian posted a front-page picture of Mining & Trade Review, Malawi’s premiere mining publication, that captured him alongside other Lindian and top government officials.

Current Lindian Chairman Robert Martin has been insisting that Lindian is complying with the law and licence conditions by using the medium scale licence to run the mine, which holds one of the largest rare earth reserves globally.

08/08/2026

Ndemanga yapadera kuchokera kwa mkodzi

Tsekani kaye mgodi wa Kangankunde ndi kukonza zolakwika

Nkhani yokhuza mgodi wa Kangankunde ku Balaka yafika pamwana wakana phala pamene Sipikila wanyumba ya malamulo Sameer Sulemani ndi aphungu ena akufuna kuti ntchito imene ikugwiridwa pamgodiwu iyimitsidwe kaye mpakana zolakwika zonse zokhuza mgodiwu zitafufuzidwa ndi kukonzedwa.

Nyuzipepala ya Mining & Trade Review ndi imene inayambilira kuwunikira kumtundu wa a Malawi kuti miyala yapamgodiwu ingathe kupita a Malawi kuphatikizapo anthu a ku derali osapindula mokwanira ndi moyenera ndi mmene malamulo oyendetsera ntchito zamigodi adziko lino akunenera.

Mwazina nyuzipepalayi inawunikira kuti kampani ya ku Australia ya Lindian imene ikupanga ndalama zankhaninkhani pamsika wamasheya ku Australia chifukwa cha mgodi wa Kangankunde ikugwiritsa ntchito chiphaso chaching’ono chotchedwa medium scale mining licence. Pamalamulo adziko lino woyendetsera ntchito zamigodi, chiphaso chimenechi sichimakakamiza kampani kusayina mgwirizano ndi boma kapena anthu akudera la mgodi kuti apeze phindu mu mgodi mmene zimakhalira ndi chiphaso chachikulu choyendetsera migodi.

Suleman ananena ku nyumba ya malamulo kuti nduna ya migodi Thoko Tembo atseke mgodiwu pamene komiti ya kunyumba ya malamulo yowona ntchito zamigodi ndi chilengedwe ikupanga kafukufuku kuwona kuti zikukhala bwanji kuti mgodiwu usamayende bwino chonchi.

Aphungu angapo kuphatikizapo a Steven Malondera oyimira Lilongwe Nyanja anagwirizana ndi zimene ananena a Sulemeni.

Koma poyankhapo nduna yamigodi a Thoko Tembo anati akukonza zinthu zonse zokhuza mgodiwu kuti ziziyenda bwino ndipo nduna ya zamalamulo a Charles Mhango anati pakufunika boma la Malawi liyitenge bwino nkhaniyi kuti isathawitse anthu ogwira ntchito zamigodi mdziko muno. Ndunayi inati ikuwopanso kuti kampaniyi ingathe kusumira boma ikayimitsidwa ndipo boma lingathe kupereka ndalama zambiri kukampaniyi khoti likalamula.

Koma ife ngati nyuzipepala yamigodi mdziko la Malawi tikugwirizana ndi zimene a Suleman anena kuti mgodiwu utsekedwe kaye pamene nyumbayi ikufufuza bwino ngati panachitika zachinyengo pamgodiwu kuti zinthu ziziyenda mopotoka chonchi.

Ife tikuwona kuti boma layenera kukhala pansi ndi kampaniyi ndi kuyitsogolera kuti itenge chiphaso chachikulu kuti dziko lino lipindule mokwanira ndi ntchitoyi.

Zikatero boma likuyenera kukakamiza kampaniyi kuti ipereke masheya ku boma mmene zimayenera kukhalira ndi kampani zonse za ziphaso zazikulu zamigodi mumalamulo adziko lino. Ngati boma lingapange mgwirizano woyenelera ndi kampaniyi, tikuganiza kuti sipangakhalenso zopitilirana mmakhoti.

Ife tikutsutsananso ndi ganizo lakuti, boma likakonza zinthu ku Kangankunde ligwetsa mphwayi kampani zimene zikufuna kuzatsekula ntchito zamigodi mdziko muno. Izi sizingakhale choncho chifukwa Kampani zamigodi zimathamangira kumayiko amene maboma ake amachita zolongosoka ndi zogwirizana ndi malamulo zomwe zimapangisa kuti kampanizi zizikhala bwino ndi anthu ammayikowo.

08/08/2026

Happy Birthday, Honourable Minister!

The Ministry of Mining wishes Hon. Thoko Tembo, MP, a happy birthday and many more years of good health, wisdom and success.
Happy Birthday, Honourable Minister!

fans

08/08/2026

Chamber urges Government to act on Kangankunde saga

By Marcel Chimwala and Chisomo Phiri

The Chamber of Mines and Energy in Malawi has urged the Ministry of Mining to urgently act decisively on the Kangankunde issue in order to do away with negative publicity that is affecting Malawi as a mining investment destination.

Speaker of Parliament Sameer Suleman and a number of Parliamentarians from both ruling and opposition camps this week called for the suspension of activities at the Kangankunde Mine in Balaka to pave way for investigations on how tenement holder ASX-listed Lindian Resources, operating as locally-owned Rift Valley Resources, is using a medium scale mining licence to run the world class rare earth mine.

Parliament has, meanwhile, ordered a fresh investigation into the Project following the concerns over its mining licence, regulatory compliance, mineral exports and documentation.

But Malunga said in taking a long time to make a decision on the issue, Malawi is scaring global mining investors in so doing negatively impacting other projects.

” Government needs to act now and close the chapter. What is so special about the Company that Government is failing to address in so doing giving Malawi’s mining sector so much negative publicity that is scaring investors,” Malunga said.

Suleman ordered the fresh investigation after Members of Parliament (MPs) raised questions about the operations of the project following presentation of a report by the Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources, Energy and Climate Change after its oversight visit to the mine.

The committee flagged gaps in documentation, uncertainties surrounding the export of mineral samples and questions over the project’s licensing status.

The committee said the project is currently operating under a medium-scale mining licence despite observations suggesting that its scale of operations could qualify it for a large-scale mining licence.

Lilongwe Nyanja Constituency legislator Steve Baba Malondera called for the government to halt operations at the site until all issues raised by the committee are resolved.

Malondera also called for a nationwide review of mining licences, arguing that stronger regulation would restore order in the sector and enable Malawi to derive greater economic benefits from its mineral resources.

In response, Minister of Mining Thoko Tembo told Parliament that government inspections had not found evidence of illegal mining or unauthorized exportation of minerals from Kangankunde.

Tembo said mineral samples taken out of the project had received official approval and were exported for metallurgical testing, laboratory analysis and other technical purposes in accordance with mining regulations.

He said government will, nevertheless, strengthen oversight of the project through the Mining and Minerals Regulatory Authority (MMRA), the Ministry of Mining and other relevant agencies to ensure compliance with licence conditions and environmental standards.

“No investor is above the law. Government will ensure that regulatory decisions are made fairly, transparently and objectively, based on the law and verified technical evidence,” said Tembo.

The minister also disclosed that enforcement proceedings had commenced against Rift Valley Resource Developments Limited over outstanding compliance requirements.

He said the company failed to submit some technical and operational documents required by the authorities and is at risk of facing sanctions, including suspension or cancellation of its mineral rights, if it fails to comply with the Mines and Minerals Act, 2023.

Tembo said government is also reviewing whether the project’s current licence category is appropriate, taking into account factors such as production capacity, investment and the size of its workforce.

While acknowledging governance challenges in the mining sector, Tembo assured parliament that government will ensure the Kangankunde project is developed legally and transparently while protecting Malawi’s interests.

But Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Charles Mhango cautioned against calls for arbitrary suspension of mining investments, saying government must balance protection of national interests with respect for the Constitution and the rights of legitimate investors.

Mhango said government cannot simply suspend activities at the Kangankunde project without a lawful basis, as doing so can expose Malawi to legal challenges and compensation claims.

He said the government’s responsibility is to ensure that mining investors complied with Malawi’s laws while also providing a stable and predictable investment environment.

“We are not here to scare investors. We are here to provide a conducive environment for investors,” said Mhango.