Mining Review Malawi

16/07/2025

04/07/2025

03/07/2025

Pali chikayiko kuti dziko la Malawi lingapeze phindu lokwanira kuchokera kumgodi wamiyala ya uranium ku Kayelekera muboma la Karonga omwe ukutsegulidwa posachedwapa.

Boma la Malawi linasayina mgwirizano ndi kampani ya Lotus yamdziko la Australia omwe ukupeleka ndandanda wa cholowa cha dziko la Malawi komanso kampaniyi pamgodiwu.

Koma mkulu wa mabungwe omwe siaboma amene amatsatira nkhani zamigodi, Natural Resources Justice Network (NRJN), Kennedy Rashid wati ngakhale mgwirizanawo uli ndi zambiri zokomera dziko la Malawi kusiyana ndi wammbuyomu, unafunikirabe kukonzedwa bwinobwino kuti dziko la Malawi lipeze phindu lokwanira kuchokera kumgodiwu.

Iye wafotokoza kuti mwazina ndi zokhumudwitsa kuti mgwirizanawo ukusonyeza kuti kampaniyi sizilipira misonkho ina.

Rashid wadzudzulanso mchitidwe wochita zinthu mwa mchibisira omwe unalipo pakukambilana za mgwirizanawo zomwe zinachititsa kuti anthu okhudzidwa akanike kulondoloza bwino.

Kutsekulidwanso kwa mgodi wa Kayelekera kwabweretsa chiyembekezo mudziko lino limene likukumana ndi mavuto azachuma.

Mwazina miyala ya uranium amapangira mphamvu zamagetsi ndi zida zankhondo zowopsa zanyukiliya ndipo pakadali pano mtengo wa miyala yofunikirayi ukukwera kwambiri padziko lonse. Mgodiwu unatsekedwa mchaka cha 2014 kutsatira kutsika mtengo kwa miyalayi.
Wolemba Modester Mwalija

27/06/2025

Malawi’s Roads Authority has announced significant progress in the construction of the Chingo-Makanjira (S129), with Phase I completed and Phase II set to commence.

The 95.65-kilometre road, will run along the southeastern shoreline of Lake Malawi, connecting Chingo Trading Centre to Makanjira Trading Centre, passing through key rural communities such as Mgoza, Mwanjati, Mdala, wa Bakili, Malindi, and Upile.

CEO of the Roads Authority, Engineer Ammiel Champiti, says in a statement the total estimated cost of the project is US$77 million. Of this, US$28 million has been secured from the World Bank under the Regional Climate Resilience Program (RCRP Phase II).

“The remaining US$49.6 million is a joint contribution from the Saudi Fund for Development, OPEC Fund, and Kuwait Fund”, he says.

Champiti explains that all necessary funding has been secured and implementation is proceeding according to the requirements of all financing partners.

“We are pleased to report that the Saudi Fund for Development has issued a No Objection for the procurement of the design review and National Construction Industry Council-Malawi auction supervision consultant, a major step towards full implementation,” says Champiti.

Phase I of the project involved the successful reconstruction of the Litisa Reinforced Concrete Bridge, funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) under the Post-Cyclone Idai and Kenneth Emergency Recovery and Resilience Project (PCIREP). The bridge is now under a one-year defects liability period.

Phase II will focus on remedial access works between Chingo and Makanjira, including culvert installation and preparatory earthworks.
By Modester Mwalija

18/06/2025

17/06/2025

Australia owned Lotus Resources will be mining Kayelekera uranium in Karonga on its own termed 'owner operator' other than hiring mining contractors.

Will not the hiring of contractors with locals included to build their capacity in such projects be ideal?

Are we doing it in the right way for a single foreign Investor to own and mine alone? Are we not reducing opportunities for others?

25/05/2025

LILONGWE, MALAWI – It all began with a dream as a young girl; Joana Chagunda always wanted to be a journalist and be in front of the camera.

Born to a family of five in Mulanje, she completed her secondary school in 2013 at Macey Williams Girls Secondary School. In 2017, she enrolled in a diploma in Journalism at the University of Malawi African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP)ytechnic - now known as Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS).

Her passion for journalism came from her love of being in front of the camera, and her biggest inspiration was Sophie Kenny, who she loved to watch on BBC. As a determined young lady, she decided to continue with her education after completing her diploma and in 2019 she enrolled in a bachelor’s degree in communication studies at Mzuzu University, which she then graduated from in 2023 having obtained a second-class degree.

To start off her career she began as a reporter and found herself being heavily involved in mainstream media. In a bid to move away from pure journalism and allow herself to have a broader spectrum she decided to take the bold step and leave her work with media houses, and this is how she joined the team at Sovereign Services as a Community Liaison Officer.

From having a dream of being in front of the camera she began her role of relationship building within the community.

Being with Sovereign Services has been an exciting journey for Joana as she enjoys building relationships, interacting with people and communities. Kasiya is predominantly a farming community and what she loves the most is that she is always with farmers, sharing stories and able to hear their life experiences, giving her a chance to learn from others. Being in the field also gives her a strong sense of belonging and makes her feel that she is home; for her this is truly the best part.

Joana says: “I am grateful to Sovereign Services for the opportunity and the exposure the role brings."

Being part of a mineral exploration company which offers her the opportunity to influence as well as bridge the information gap between the community and the fledgeling Malawian mining industry is a great joy and this is why she loves her job as a community liaison officer.

To navigate her new role Joana made sure that she remained humble, as this was her first time playing such an important role for a company. The career switch came with many challenges that she encountered due to the fact that this was a new field, and she had to understand the bigger picture and find out how she could fit in and contribute.

To overcome this hurdle, she always asked for guidance from her manager and colleagues, who were always exceptionally helpful. To her this was the best approach as she felt it would enable her to learn how to approach communities, raise awareness and educate them on the exploration work she was part of; adapting to the environment was a major key for her always. In addition to her colleagues the corporate culture at Sovereign Services was another great factor in her transition.

The corporate culture at Sovereign follows health and safety rules and emphasis is placed on this all the time to make sure that no one is hurt. Resting and recharging is always encouraged as 70 percent of the work is done in the field. Aside from this, teamwork is also at the core of the Sovereign values as they believe that no one person can do everything alone.

“When we work as a team we achieve more,” she added.
So, there is always co-ordination among the various departments to see the bigger picture and achieve the same goals. Opportunities to thrive and grow with Sovereign Services are always presented to the staff if one is flexible and willing to adapt. Diversity and inclusion are important and Joana highlights how her department is predominantly made of women.

Joana’s advice to all other young people is to remain “agile, as you can find yourself in a field you were not trained in. Think outside the box and always explore alternatives.”

In the next five years some of her aspirations are to obtain a master's degree, be an inspiration to young girls and showing them that they too can work in an exploration company. Doing motivational talks, encouraging those with low self-esteem and letting them know it is possible to achieve your dreams, having a career progression, being a leader and leading people in her line of work and making decisions, as well as being a key player in Sovereign Services are some of her aspirations.

24/05/2025

MALAWI’S PRESIDENTIAL DELIVERY UNIT VISITS LAB FOR KASIYA RUTILE-GRAPHITE PROJECT TO BOOST COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND ATM STRATEGY

LILONGWE, MALAWI – As part of its ongoing commitment to enhance collaboration between government entities and innovative research sectors, the Presidential Delivery Unit (PDU) recently conducted a visit to the Sovereign Services sample preparation laboratory in Lilongwe and its pilot soils rehabilitation project site in Kasiya.

This visit underscored the government's commitment to the President's ATM (Agriculture, Tourism and Mining) strategy, while boldly tackling the longstanding challenges of improved communication between the government and local communities, ensuring that local voices are heard and valued in the development process.

During the visit, the PDU team, led by Deputy Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Dr Janette Banda, engaged with researchers and staff from Sovereign’s laboratory and expressed admiration for the laboratory’s effective handling of sample processing, as well as the successful rehabilitation of the pilot project site within such a short period of time.

“We are very impressed with the growth of crops like maize and bamboo, which are thriving even more than at areas which have not undergone any soil disturbance. This demonstrates how Sovereign is prioritizing environmental and livelihood restoration concerns,” Dr Banda noted.

The primary goal of the PDU's visit was to assess Sovereign’s activities and gather feedback from the affected community members regarding their experiences and concerns related to Sovereign’s exploration and feasibility study activities.

Sovereign’s Country Manager, Maxwell Kazako, emphasised the importance of a transparent collaboration with affected communities while being sensitive to concerns and misconceptions. In his remarks Mr Kazako noted that the Kasiya rutile and graphite project will result in meaningful secondary economic development, employment opportunities and skills development, once in operation.

He explained that the company’s current activities are all focussed on engineering, environmental and marketing studies as part of Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS). A DFS is a regulatory requirement under the Mines and Minerals Act (2023) as the final stage prior to applying for a large-scale mining licence, emphasising that Sovereign only holds an exploration license at this time.

Mr Kazako urged local communities to embrace the project, saying: “This initiative has the potential to be life-changing for your families and will positively impact generations to come, benefiting the entire nation of Malawi for the next 25 to 50 years.”

Dr Banda echoed this sentiment, highlighting the significance of mining for job creation, community training in sustainable farming practices and the revenue that will ultimately support rural development in Malawi.
The visit concluded with a commitment to continue open dialogue, foster future collaboration, and create frameworks that promote cooperation between local communities and investors, in alignment with government policies and guidelines.

24/05/2025

SPEECH MADE BY PRESIDENT OF MKANGO RESOURCES MR ALEX LEMON AT MALAWI MINING INVESTMENT FORUM ON 28 APRIL 2025

Muli Bawnji colleagues, friends and guests my name is Alex Lemon and I am a founding director and President of Mkango Resources, please take it for granted that all protocols are observed and that my talk will be short as I am aware lunch time has arrived!

Mkango is listed on the UK and Canadian stock exchange. Our corporate strategy in Malawi is to develop and mine new sustainable sources of rare earths especially neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium which are rare earths used to make high strength magnets that are needed to supply the accelerating demand from electric vehicles, robotics, wind turbines and other clean energy technologies.

Malawi is blessed with world class rare earth deposits and we have been exploring and are now developing a very exciting mining project in Phalombe. As you may be aware this is the Songwe Rare Earth Project.

The theme for this Mining Investment Forum describes very well the Songwe Rare Earth Project, as the Songwe Rare Earth Mine will be a Game Changer which will undoubtedly be “Advancing Malawi’s Mining Agenda in an Evolving Global Industry”

We are at a pivotal time for the Songwe Hill rare earth mine development. As the global demand for critical materials continues to rise, the rare earths supply chain faces unprecedented pressure to meet the needs of key industries such as renewable energy, electric vehicles, robotics and other advanced technologies. This demand underscores the urgent need to develop new Rare Earth supply chains into international markets . Today, the supply of rare earths is heavily concentrated in a few regions, creating vulnerabilities that can disrupt the entire international value chain. Malawi has world class rare earth deposits which will help build resilience and ensure a stable world wide supply, it is imperative for Malawi that we get the rare earth deposits developed and mines built as soon as possible.

Songwe Hill is one of the few rare earths projects in the world to have completed a Definitive Feasibility Study as well as having a fully permitted ESHIA to World Bank IFC standards, with an expected life of mine of 18 years, it will produce a high value purified mixed rare earth carbonate, the mineral beneficiation and processing will be taking place in Malawi and we are going to build a Hydro-metallurgical plant on site to ensure that value addition happens here in Malawi. This future mining project will be a game changer for the Nation of Malawi.

The Songwe Mining operation will help transform Malawi, we expect it to contribute between 1% to 2% of Malawi’s future GDP and will provide a source of Forex into the country from the projects high value exports. Clearly If individual mining projects that are being planned and being constructed can produce individually over 1% of the country’s GDP then it will be possible for the future mining sector to eventually contribute to over 15% of the country’s GDP thereby attaining the goals and objectives of the ATM (Agriculture, Tourism and Mining) Strategy. This will help transform the economy of the nation in the medium to long term.

We have completed exploration and now are moving into the Front End Engineering, Design and value engineering / optimisation phase that will de-risk the construction of the Mine, processing and HydroMet plant and needs to be completed prior to starting construction. For example an 87 km high voltage power line needs to be designed and constructed from Blantyre to the Songwe site, roads and other infrastructure will need to be upgraded. The detailed engineering studies will take approximately 9 months to complete and engineering optimisation studies are already taking place in Australia and South Africa with leading engineering groups this has been funded by the European Union via an equity investment directly in Mkango from the EIT. Following completion of the FEED we expect mine construction will take 18 to 24 months and will employ ~1,200 people per annum during the construction phase and ~ 500 people per annum during the 18 year life of mine, with an estimated ~10,000 indirect job created in the region

The communities in which we are working are very supportive and very much looking forward to the future opening of the mining operation. We are very much visible in the community as we continue to engage with each other through various voluntary Corporate Social Responsibility projects such as secondary school and university scholarships for the top achieving primary school students at 3 schools in our area; we have worked with a local CSO BONGO where they have painted 24 classrooms at the 3 primary schools to foster an enjoyable learning environment – this is a project known as Happy classrooms. We believe education is key to transforming the lives of the surrounding community and Malawi at large. Currently 57 primary students have been given scholarships into secondary schools - with their fees fully paid. To date 11 of these students have got into it to University and I am very pleased to inform you that our first university student has graduated in IT/Computer studies at DMI University in Mangochi. When this educational assistance is provided during the exploration stages of the project it means there are greater possibilities for local skills and local employment when the mine starts to be constructed and begins operating. In addition we have drilled numerous water boreholes, introduced a school feeding program amongst other initiatives. Needless to say our community is a key stakeholder for us. During operations 0.45% of revenue will be provided through our community development agreement.

Institutional strengthening is very important in mining projects such as ours. We do not work alone we have key symbiotic relationships with many relevant institutions. For example Mkango Resources is a member of The Chamber of Mines & Energy. We also participate actively in MWEITI - Malawi Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. These institutions are there to ensure that mining becomes a game-changer for Malawi in a transparent manner that will give the nation and company credibility locally and internationally.

Finally I am very pleased to announce that we are advancing our plans to list the Songwe Rare Earth mine on the United States NASDAQ stock exchange in New York. This is a stock exchange where technology companies such as Apple and Microsoft are listed. I believe the Songwe Rare Earth Project will be the first Malawian project / business to list on the NASDAQ stock exchange in the USA. We will be flying the flag of Malawi proudly in the USA. We are also going to list the company on the Malawi Stock Exchange to increase local content and enable Malawian Institutional and private investors to invest in the Songwe Rare Earth Mine.

I would like to thank Malawi’s Development partners for their continued support, advice and investment into the Nation of Malawi’s Natural Resources Sector particulary thanking the United States of America, EU, UK & Canadian governments.

But finally I would like to thank the Government of Malawi, Presidential Delivery Unit, Ministry of Mining, Finance, Jusctice and all the other ministries for their continued support and congratulate the Ministry of Mines for organizing events such as this that have the clear objective of Advancing Malawi’s Mining Agenda in an evolving Global Industry.
Zikomo Kwambiri

21/05/2025