Minister of Mining Thoko Tembo has highlighted lack of appropriate machinery as one of the biggest challenges facing artisanal and small scale miners engaged in gold mining nationwide.
The minister, speaking on Friday after touring the Nanjiri Mining Cooperative in Traditional Authority Chadza in Lilongwe, said the government has started implementing measures to guarantee small-scale mining, including facilitating access to equipment and machinery to boost production.
“We are talking to banks and other lending institutions to see if they can provide loans to these cooperatives for machinery to enable them extract gold in larger volumes,” said Tembo.
He said the government’s focus is to channel mining activities through organised cooperatives, making it easier for miners to access support, improve output and contribute to the economy.
He also urged cooperatives to sell gold through authorised markets to guarantee fair returns and revenue for the government.
Malawi Mining Investment Company (Mamico) chief executive Leonard Kalindekafe said research shows that 26 of the country’s 28 districts hold deposits of valuable minerals, underscoring the sector’s potential.
He said Mamico is planning to establish a gold mining company to extract the resource on a large-scale to maximise the benefits.
Nanjiri Mining Cooperative chairperson Stanley Yolamu said the group intends to expand production once it secures a mining licence.
“We started our cooperative last year, but once we are given a licence, we will expand our mining activities,” he said.
Mining currently contributes about one percent to the country’s gross domestic product, according to the 2026 Malawi Government Annual Economic Report.
