en.Wedoany.com Reported - Australia's Lindian Resources Ltd (ASX:LIN, OTC:LINIF) has completed a major technical validation for its Kangankunde Rare Earth Project in Malawi. Independent tests confirmed a 98% neodymium-praseodymium extraction rate and successfully produced non-radioactive mixed rare earth carbonate.
The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) validated the complete downstream process from Kangankunde monazite concentrate to specification mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC). In this largest acid bake test, neodymium-praseodymium extraction reached 98%, with total rare earth and yttrium extraction at 96%. As the process scaled up, previous optimization results improved, achieving an overall neodymium-praseodymium recovery of approximately 96% from concentrate to final MREC.
ANSTO certified that the final MREC product is exempt from radioactive transport and handling requirements under applicable International Atomic Energy Agency standards. Uranium, thorium, and related decay chain radionuclides, including actinium-227 closely monitored by rare earth processors and regulators, were below analytical detection limits. This result establishes an independently verified non-radioactive pathway covering Kangankunde concentrate and final MREC products, enabling these materials to be transported and handled using conventional logistics without specialized Class 7 radioactive procedures. The certification reduces regulatory complexity and expands access for separation plants and magnet manufacturers seeking low-radionuclide feedstocks.
The final batch test produced a leach solution containing 21.1 grams per liter of total rare earths and yttrium, the highest grade achieved in ANSTO's program. Higher solution concentrations reduce the size of tanks, pumps, and filtration equipment, while lowering water and reagent requirements, improving plant effective capacity. The purification circuit removed nearly all phosphorus and iron, while reducing thorium to below detection limits. Total neodymium-praseodymium losses across the two impurity removal stages were limited to approximately 1%, with subsequent carbonate precipitation recovering over 99.9% of the remaining rare earths. ANSTO also determined that a dedicated uranium removal circuit is not required, which is expected to simplify the process and reduce capital and operating costs.
The validated process uses conventional sulfuric acid baking, water leaching, impurity removal, and carbonate precipitation circuits, directly compatible with the SARECO processing facility in Kazakhstan. Lindian plans to implement the process at SARECO, where Kangankunde concentrate has previously been converted into specification MREC, and which also has established sulfuric acid supply arrangements.
Lindian Executive Director Zac Komur stated that these results substantially reduce technical and execution risk by confirming process scale, demonstrating repeatability across multiple concentrate feeds, and validating the engineering basis for commercial MREC production.
Kangankunde is the cornerstone of Lindian's portfolio, expected to produce high-quality monazite concentrate grading approximately 55% total rare earth oxides. The company is fully funded for Phase 1 development, with construction advancing and first production targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026. Lindian is also progressing a Phase 2 feasibility study aimed at expanding capacity. With the completion of ANSTO's downstream metallurgy program, Lindian will shift focus to the recommissioning and optimization of the SARECO facility to support the planned transition from pilot validation to integrated commercial production of Kangankunde concentrate and higher-value MREC.
