Lindian Resources (ASX:LIN) has come out with one of the more eyebrow-raising pieces of news for Tuesday: it’s accused two Chinese-born trespassers, presumably geologists, of stealing samples from its Malawi-based Kangankunde rare earths project.
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The ASX hasn’t heard anything like this in a while – although it’s not completely unprecedented.
Here we can find echoes of Cassius Mining’s (ASX:CMD) ongoing dispute with a Chinese company (and the government of Ghana), it’s accused of digging, underground, into its acreage and stealing all of its gold. Yee-haw: Africa, baby.
And so it is unfortunate but perhaps unsurprising we find ourselves on the continent where it all began (if the Chemical Brothers are to believed) when it comes to Lindian.
Here’s the long story short, which is fairly straightforward.
A story broke in The Australian over the weekend claiming Lindian Resources became aware (via its security team) of two Chinese nationals, presumably geologists, on-site at its project acreage collecting surface samples of rare earth orebodies.
(Or at least, that’s what these two ‘trespassers’ are suspected of trying to find.)
The West Australian published their version of the story later, not surprising given that half of the ASX is headquartered in the Perth-Subiaco-Leederville mining headquarters triangle. For the most part, anyway.
Both Australian mastheads published fairly identical retellings. Both included the line that the two trespassers were arrested by Malawian officials.
But it gets more interesting.
A Malawi-based news outlet, Nyasa Times, has reported that Malawi’s police spokesperson told its reporters there were no arrests made, and that nobody related to the alleged crime – presumably, at this time, trespassing at the very least – was in custody.
So, there are two entirely different versions of reality for you. But anybody living in the current moment is probably familiar with that.
Lindian itself “[acknowledged] multiple media reports” on the matter, and noted individuals were “detained” – but didn’t mention arrests. (It also remains to be seen how the police chief of Malawi feels about Nyasa Times reporters.)
But that’s beside the point.
What did actually happen on-site Lindian’s project this weekend?
Is this just xenophobia? Were the two Chinese nationals working on behalf of some other company? The Chinese Government? Xi Jinping himself?
Or are they a rogue mine-theft-outfit cell?
It’s worth asking, in my view, if this hasn’t all just been blown up the The Australian, and then an increasingly right-wing-readership-targeting West Australian. Much remains to be cleared up, if it ever will be.
But it is further evidence that there could be some kind of operation among Chinese companies to stifle Australia’s rare earth sector development, as Iluka spokespersons have claimed.
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After all, Canberra quite recently forced Chinese investors in Northern Star to divest a stake that climbed over 10%.
LIN last traded at 11.5cps, down -4.2%.
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Jonathon Davidson
The Market Online, Australia
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