Malawi's mining minister has reaffirmed that companies operating in the country will not be permitted to export unprocessed minerals, as the government seeks to capture more value from its nascent extractives sector rather than shipping raw material abroad for processing elsewhere.
Speaking during a visit to the Kangankunde Rare Earth Project in Balaka on Wednesday, Thoko Tembo, Minister of Mining, told Lindian Resources — the Australian-listed company developing the project — that all mining operations must add value domestically before export.
"No mining company is allowed to export raw minerals. The minerals have to be processed before they are exported," Tembo said.
The requirement reflects a broader push by Lilongwe to ensure the country benefits more directly from its mineral endowment through employment creation, local value addition and community development, rather than exporting raw commodities and re-importing finished goods at higher cost — a pattern common across resource-rich African economies that Malawi is seeking to avoid as it attempts to diversify an economy still dominated by agriculture.
Zac Komur, Executive Director of Lindian Resources, said the company was already moving to convert its mining licence from medium-scale to large-scale status, a shift he said would help attract additional investment into the project and expand its economic footprint both locally and nationally.
The company is planning an initial production phase involving the extraction of approximately 500,000 tonnes per year of rare earth-bearing material, containing between 2 and 3 per cent rare earth oxides.
That material would then undergo processing and refining to strip out impurities and yield a higher-value output, positioning the project within the downstream segment of the rare earths supply chain rather than as a pure raw-material exporter.
"For stage one, the company will mine 500,000 metric tonnes of rare earth material per year, which contains about two to three percent rare earth oxides. This will be processed and refined to reduce the impurity content," Komur said.
Rare earth elements are critical inputs for a range of technologies including electric vehicle motors, wind turbines and electronics, and have become a focal point of global supply chain competition as countries seek to reduce reliance on dominant producers such as China.
Balaka District Commissioner Bibu Yusufu Mdala welcomed the company's engagement with local communities ahead of full production, describing the early-stage investment as evidence of Lindian's commitment to the area surrounding the mining site.
The Kangankunde project is being positioned by both the company and government officials as a potential contributor to Malawi's efforts to expand mineral output, attract foreign investment and generate employment, as the country looks to mining as a third pillar of economic growth alongside agriculture and tourism.
