Investor touts Malawi’s mining value
New investors in Kayelekera Uranium Mine in Karonga have touted Malawi as the best destination for mining investment in the world.
Lotus Resources Limited said the Malawi Government under the Tonse Alliance has demonstrated that it is business-oriented.
Lotus Resources managing director Keith Bowes said this in the company’s New Year interview monitored on YouTube.
He said the new government, which maintained a 15 percent stake in the company, was knowledgeable in negotiations.
On September 1 2021, in accordance with the Mines and Minerals Act, the Ministry of Mining renewed Lotus’ mining licence number ML0152 for 15 years.
Bowes said: “Some people maybe have a negative attitude towards Malawi not being taken as a mining jurisdiction, and I think it’s up to us to explain to those people that it is a very good place to work in and we are very happy with what we are seeing from the government.
“There was change of power, and it was very smooth transition and the party in power is very much business-oriented and we are starting to see that in the negotiations.”
He said Lotus was keen to see the Kayelekera Uranium Mine operation running again because they see significant revenue that it can bring to the country.
Last year, President Lazarus Chakwera singled mining as one of the key priority areas and outlined how it could transform the country’s economy.
He said: “As a country, we have issued over 250 mining licences, but we still have no proper mining industry or returns to speak of.
“This is a crime we cannot allow to happen again. Nor can we allow our mining sector in general to be the unstructured, exploitative, and lawless free for all it has been in recent years.”
Major policy directions announced included the establishment of a mining authority to regulate the industry whose Bill is expected to be introduced in the June sitting of Parliament.
Government also established a new national mining company to implement business interests of the country’s mining sector, and a gold market run by the Reserve Bank of Malawi.
The President further announced that he had mining authorities to work on stamping out the smuggling of minerals and pledged that his administration will ensure good governance in the mining sector for the country to fully benefit from the industry.instructed the police and
Lotus owns 85 percent interest in the Kayelekera Uranium Project.
Kayelekera Uranium Mine, Malawi’s biggest mining venture to date, was placed under care and maintenance since February 2014 following the tumbling of global uranium prices in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, which forced the closure of nuclear power plants across the world.
Prior to this, uranium prices hovered around $73 per pound and were expected to increase overtime, but to date, the price has nose-dived to a record low of $20-$25 per pound, a price Paladin argued was not enough to resume production and exportation of the commodity.
