Ministry says funding key to boosting mining

The Department of Mining says an additional K114 billion in funding will help to accelerate the country’s mining sector, including geological exploration, laboratory infrastructure, regulatory enforcement and mineral data systems. The request, more than 12 times the department’s proposed allocation of K8.56 billion, was presented during a meeting of the Parliamentary Cluster Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources and Climate Change held with the department’s acting Principal Secretary Andrew Chisamba and director of policy and planning Patricia Zimpita. The two outlined the sector’s opportunities, budget needs and operational challenges.

The department’s budget brief which Zimpita presented showed that the extra funding would support a wide range of activities, including mineral exploration, geological mapping, laboratory development, artisanal mining formalisation, regulatory oversight and development of mining policies and digital mineral data systems. She said the largest portion of the proposed funding, about K45.7 billion, will go towards strengthening the Geological Survey Department to conduct detailed mineral exploration and generate reliable geological data. Zimpita said the money will also help to finance the procurement of modern drilling rigs, field exploration equipment, vehicles and laboratory equipment as well as rehabilitation of laboratory infrastructure and development of a national geo-data management system.

Some of the projects under consideration include construction of a modern drill core library, a beryllium processing plant, coal mapping for power generation and a nationwide airborne geophysical survey to identify strategic mineral deposits. Zimpita said the proposed investments seek to address structural gaps in the sector, particularly limited geological data, inadequate laboratory infrastructure and weak regulatory capacity. On the other hand, Chisamba said that stronger investment in exploration will enable the government to identify commercially-viable mineral deposits before offering them to investors, giving Malawi greater leverage when negotiating mining development agreements.

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Committee chairperson Tiaone Hendry backed the proposal and asked the department to provide more detailed information on the requirement to get the exploration project on track. In an interview, Chamber of Mines and Energy national coordinator Grain Malunga said limited participation in mining projects partly reflects Malawi’s reliance on private investors to conduct exploration. He said: “For a long time, Malawians have been complaining that governments always get a minority share in local mining operations. “But how do we get a larger share when another company took the risk and invested their money?” Mzuzu University economics lecturer Christopher Mbukwa, in a separate interview, said financing constraints have slowed progress in developing Malawi’s mineral resources.

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