Engineers eye mining for innovation
The emerging mining sector that offers various minerals that can be used in technological innovations presents an opportunity for locally-produced engineering products, some engineers have said.
One local engineering firm, Anderson Engineering, through its managing director Harold Jere said in an interview that there is already a collaboration with government on how best the minerals can be turned into engineering solutions for the local market which is dominated by imports.
According to Jere, the local market is growing in demand of things such as refrigeration, air conditioning and other appliances that can be manufactured locally.
“We need raw materials to fabricate these products. We need things such as steel, hard plastics and copper—we cannot access all these things at the moment, but we hope that as the mining sector is emerging, soon we will be able to find them locally,” said Jere.
He added: “As engineers, we are part of the development of the mining sector, so we are confident that, through that, the solution is very close.”
The Ministry of Mining underscores that all minerals produced in the country will have to be refined locally and, where possible, there should be production of end products.
According to the ministry’s Principal Secretary Joseph Mkandawire, there is already an interest to produce lithium-ion batteries since the factory will not require a lot of electricity.
“On lithium-ion batteries, the factory will not need a lot of power and we already have an interest from one investor to set up a factory. That is what we are encouraging,” he said.
Materials required to produce lithium-ion batteries include lithium, graphite, cobalt and copper.
While the country does not have copper and cobalt discovered yet, there are lithium and graphite deposits expected to be produced in some upcoming projects.
A member of Engineering Registration Council of the Malawi Institution of Engineering Eugenio Tebulo, said in an interview that there is need for local solutions of engineering products at the time the market is growing.
“The potential is very big, but how the people embrace that potential is very poor. However, where there is a challenge, there is an opportunity. We need to have our local solutions because they will answer to our needs and will be affordable and easily accessible,” said Tebulo.
One major proposed mining project that offers a significant industry is the aluminum production from the bauxite deposits in Mulanje.
According to an analysis by mining expert Grain Malunga, the two sites—Lichenya and Linje on Mulanje Mountain—contain a combined 28.8 million metric tonnes (MT) within an average depth of 4.5 metres.
The analysis shows that the proposed mining output of 580 000 MT of bauxite will be able to produce 200 000 MT of alumina per year, which would be refined to 100 000 MT of aluminum, a material used for a wide range of products, including vehicle bodies, roofing materials and food containers.
