By: Creamer media

Confirming several media reports, Lindian said in a statement that it considered the incident to be a “serious breach of site security and a concerning act of industrial trespass”.

The company pointed out that Kangankunde is regarded as one of the world’s largest and highest-grade rare earths deposits, and is notable for its lack of deleterious radioactive elements – a rare characteristic in the industry. The project’s Stage 1 development is expected to support production for more than 45 years.

Law enforcement and security agencies are investigating the matter.

“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,” executive chairperson Robert Martin stated.

He praised local authorities and site staff for their response. “We would like to thank our head of security Remmie Maseketsa, his security team, the local police force and our operational staff for their diligence in maintaining a safe and secure mine site,” Martin said.

“We will continue to work with the authorities to ensure that the companies sovereignty and security are maintained to the highest standards.”