With rare earth deposits foregrounding many a geopolitical discussion these days, countries are doing their best to protect and maximize their reserves. Recently, Malawi police arrested two Chinese nationals found trespassing and performing "unauthorized geological sampling" on the site of Malawi's Kangankunde Rare Earths Project.
Rare earth elements are crucial to supporting growth in clean energy industries, from wind turbines to electric vehicles to smartphone manufacturing. The developing Project Kangankunde, managed by the Australian Lindian Resources, intends to establish a rare earth mining and processing front at one of the world's largest deposit sites near the city of Blantyre, Malawi. Preliminary work on the Project began only a few weeks ago.
According to an Investing News Network report on Nasdaq.com, the incident involved two Chinese nationals attempting to bypass Lindian Resources security barriers with the help of unmapped haul roads and two Malawian guides. Security apprehended the intruders within hours, per local villagers.
"Lindian considers this a serious breach of site security and a concerning act of industrial trespass, particularly given the strategic nature of the Kangankunde asset," Lindian Resources said in a press release obtained by Investing News Network.
The company's executive chairman, Robert Martin, said Lindian "takes site safety and security extremely seriously, especially with pre construction works well underway" and that "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."
As rare earth elements increasingly become a point of geopolitical contention, mining and processing efforts may become more extreme. In addition to providing fuel to potential international conflicts, such invasive mining procedures yield dust and other contaminants and may take their toll on nearby ecosystems, noted the Harvard International Review. While rare earth elements are used in clean energy technologies, it's possible the environmental impact of the initial extraction may work counter to at least some of these benefits.
"This is the third time Chinese nationals have done this," said one local community leader, James Makanga, according to the Malawi Voice. "Their actions are beginning to raise alarm to us as members of the community."
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