Dual-listed Mkango Resources continues to progress its Songwe Hill rare earths and its Thambani uranium/tantalum/niobium projects, in Malawi.

The company on Monday reported that the feasibility study for Songwe Hill continued to progress, fully funded by strategic partner, Talaxis, a subsidiary of Noble Group.

Mkango confirmed that the recently shipped 60 t bulk rock sample for mineral processing and metallurgical pilot testwork studies had arrived at the Fremantle Port in Western Australia.

Optimisation of the mineral processing flowsheet also continued to progress well.

Mkango earlier this month hosted a delegation of Malawian government representatives at the project. The delegation included Natural Resources, Energy and Mining Minister Binton Kutsaira, Natural Resources, Energy and Mining Deputy Minister Mungasulwa Mwambande and the Ministry’s chief director Oliver Kambambe.

“The government of Malawi is 100% committed to supporting investors in the mining sector such as Mkango Resources as mining is a priority on the government's agenda of transforming the economy of Malawi,” Kutsaira said.

“We believe the Songwe rare earths project will be transformational for Malawi, enabling it to become an important sustainable producer of rare earth elements which are so necessary for the efficient future electrification of transport systems and renewable energy such as direct drive wind turbines, as well as many other high-tech applications,” Mkango president Alexander Lemon commented in an update to shareholders on Monday.

Meanwhile, at Thambani, Mkango chief geologist Dr Paul Armitage and a team of five geologists were currently carrying out a detailed exploration work programme on the exclusive prospecting licence, which features multiple zones of nepheline-syenite-hosted uranium, tantalum and niobium mineralisation, with a number of extensive uranium radiometric anomalies.

The programme follows on the previous exploration results and includes further ground truthing of radiometric anomalies, rock sampling on outcrop and a collection of samples from new trenches.

In parallel, Mkango is continuing to evaluate partnership opportunities for the project.

All costs associated with the work programme are being covered out of existing cash resources.